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https://archive.org/details/mountainsmolehil00marr_1 


BY  FRANK  MARRYAT, 

AUTHOR  OF  "BORNEO  AND  THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO." 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


NEW  YORK: 
HARPER   &   BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 

1855. 


PREFACE. 


Nothing  that  I  can  say  here  will  blind  the  reader 
to  the  deficiency  of  these  pages ;  they  are  in  truth, 
as  then  title  expresses,  the  recollections  of  a  44  Journal 
burnt,"  and  I  present  here  but  an  outline  of  what  I 
have  seen  or  heard  during  three  years  of  my  life  ;  and 
if  I  am  wanting  in  figures  and  statistics  and  any  thing 
of  weight  as  regards  the  country  written  of,  it  is  cer- 
tainly because  I  recalled  this  Journal  unexpectedly, 
and  far  from  the  scenes  it  once  depicted. 

I  may  have  remembered  too  little,  but  that  is  pref- 
erable to  remembering  too  much. 

I  have  tried  to  confine  myself  to  what  is  most  pleas- 
ant, and  it  may  be  that  a  rambling  truthful  story  is 
the  best,  if  to  make  the  work  elaborate  one  must  have 
recourse  to  fiction. 

It  is  right  that  a  man  should  submit  any  thing  he 
does  modestly,  yet,  for  all  that,  a  preface  need  not  be 
an  apology  ;  for  I  look  on  a  tale  written  as  a  tale 


iv  PREFACE. 

told,  with  this  advantage  to  the  reader,  that  if  the  tale 
written  please  him  not,  he  can  close  the  book  and 
have  done  with  it.  I  am  no  "button-holder,  and  would 
rather,  sir,  that  you  would  desert  me  at  my  second 
chapter,  than  that  you  should  wade  wearily  through 
this  volume,  and  then,  because  we  do  not  suit  each 
other,  say  that  I  have  bored  you. 

In  these  days,  when  new  discoveries  of  Nature's 
gifts,  and  increased  facilities  of  communication  with 
them  invite  man  to  roam,  any  record  of  travel  should 
possess  some  interest  for  the  adventurous. 

I  have  proved  to  myself,  what  these  pages  may  not 
show,  that  a  man  with  health  may  plant  himself  in 
any  country  in  the  world,  and  by  the  exercise  of  those 
reasonable  faculties  that  are  denied  to  few,  may  there 
live  well  and  happily. 

It  is  nothing,  perhaps,  to  state  this  for  a  fact,  but 
I  would  have  each  emigrant  hug  it  to  his  breast  as  a 
warm  hope  that  will  uphold  him  in  the  hours  of  adver- 
sity and  trial  that  will  meet  him  in  the  path  he 
pioneers  for  himself  in  a  new  country. 

Header,  these  pages  are  so  much  black  and  white, 
and  will  pass,  as  nearly  all  such  matter  does,  rapidly 
to  oblivion  ;  but  if  they  bring  no  smile  to  you,  nor 


PREPA  C  E.  v 

help  momentarily  to  efface  a  care,  I  would  ask  that 
they  should  bring  no  frown,  for  they  are  written  earn- 
estly, and  with  a  good  intention,  even  though  from 
first  to  last  they  stand  against  me  as  printed  errors,  to 
cause  regret  in  later  years. 

FRANK  MARRYAT. 

December  1st,  1854. 


Note. — As  my  sketches  were  destroyed  by  fire,  I  have  been  un- 
able to  illustrate  the  scenery  of  California,  but  in  the  accompanying 
drawings  I  have  endeavored  to  be  faithful  to  the  characteristics  of 
the  people. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Chagres  River. — Curiosity. — Isthmus  of  Panama. — Washington  Ho- 
tel.— Ants. — A  Native  of  Virginia. — Gold  Train. — Robbery. — 
Panama  Bells. — An  Emigrant  Ship. — An  affecting  Preacher. — 
San  Francisco   13 

CHAPTER  II. 

A  Great  Country. — Improvement. — Adventurers. — Drinking-saloons. 
— The  old  Judge. — Banks. — Mine  Speculators. — Gambling-houses. 
— "  Don't  Shoot."— Climate.— High  and  Dry   32 

CHAPTER  III. 

Benicia. — Barnes. — A  mad  Blood-hound.— His  Death.— Grasshop- 
pers.— Don  Raymond.  —  A  Blessed  City. — Wicked  Mules. — 
"Camping  out." — Napa. — Fourth  of  July. — Agriculturists. — So- 
noma.— Competition. — An  Irascible  Bull   50 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Spanish  Grants. — Squatters. — Squatter  Fights. — A  Spanish  Ranche. 
— Good  Quarters. — Fleas. — Vanity. — Vaccaros. — Quilp. — English 
Saddles. — Antelope  Hunt. — Rattlesnakes. — Quilp  Waltzes. — Cal- 
ifornian  Horses. — Saddles. — Horse-breaking. — A  Tame  Horse.  65 

CHAPTER  V. 

Spanish  Priests. — Indians. — Quilp  forgets  Himself. — Habits  of  Native 
Californians. — Father  Bartolemeo. — The  Lasso. — Good  Riders. — 
Cattle  branding. — Raymond  provides  Mules. — Russian  River. — 
We  Encamp, — Saw-milk — I  propose  to  "Squat"  ,   82 


V  111 


CON  T  E  N  T  8. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Little  Valley. — Three  Martyrs. — Mountain  Life. — The  poor 
Does. — Castor-oil. — A  sick  Dog. — The  Carpentaro. — Gray  Squir- 
rel.— Digger  Indians — Redwood  Tree. — American  Rifles. — Griz- 
zly Bear  Hunt. — Sheldon  wounded. — Difficulty  in  killing  the  Bear. 
—Habits  of  the  Bear.— A  Thief   98 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Deer  Hunting. — Wild  Bulls. — Wild  Fowl. — A  Duck  Gun. — Driving 
an  Ox-team. — I  reflect. — An  Estampede. — The  Tiger  Cat. — Rainy 
Season. — Indian  Fires. — Wasps. — We  are  robbed  by  the  Indians. 
— I  kill  a  Bear. — Crossing  a  Swollen  River   118 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Quilp  departs  for  the  South. — San  Luis. — Ramsey. — I  am  left  for 
Dead. — The  early  History  of  California. — Discover}7  of  San  Fran- 
cisco.— Spanish  Missions. — A  Digression. — Digression,  continued. 
— A  rainy  Season. — A  little  Crab   136 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  old  Crab-catcher. — Mr.  Warren. — American  Friendship. — The 
American  Press. — Education  in  America. — Americans  good  Col- 
onists.— Californian  Correspondence   154 


CHAPTER  X. 

Long  Wharf. — Clipper  Ships. — Chinese  Emigrants. — The  May  Fire. 
— An  exciting  Scene. — Iron  Houses. — Vallejo. — The  Coyote. — 
Wild  Geese   167 


CHAPTER  XL 

Coyote  Hunting. — My  Dominions  are  invaded. — Thomas  Kills  a 
Bear. — A  Trial  of  Strength — Rowe's  "Lot." — Choctaw. — Elk. — 
A  Butchery.— Rough  Life. — Fertility  of  the  Soil   181 

CHAPTER  XII. 


Another  Fire. — My  Geological  Friend. — "  Burnt  out." — Sacramento. 
— Levee. — Hulks. — Rats. — Vigilance  Committee. — Start  for  Vol- 
cano.— Crockett. — "Right  side  up"   197 


( :  0  N  T  E  N  T  s. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

An  old  She-goat. — Our  Mineralogist — Gold  Diggers. — Murderer's 
Bar. — The  Theorist  puzzled. — Mining  Laws. — Jumping  Claims. 
— The  Miner's  Life. — ''Let  her  Slide." — Hostile  Indians. — We 
are  disgusted. — Fire-proof  Houses   210 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Joe  Bellow. — Stockton. — A  Bear  Trapper. — Bear  and  Bull  Fights. 
— An  uneasy  Bear — Californian  Inns. — Natural  Roads. — Good 
Driving. — I  kill  a  Flea. — Sonora. — The  Evening  commences. — 
French  Emigrants. — A  Drinking  Bar. — Number  Eighty. — A  Cor- 
ral and  a  Moral   224 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Gold  Mine. — The  Innocence  of  Sonora. — Sunday  in  Sonora. — 
Selling  a  Horse. — Carrying  Weapons. — Bob. — We  leave  Vallejo. 
— We  are  li  Bound  to  Go." — The  Shadow  of  a  Crow   241 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

I  explain  to  the  patient  Reader. — Pioneers. — A  Lady's  Boot. — 
Mainspring. — Mexican  Robbers. — Victims  of  Prejudice. — Works 
on  America. — Two  Pigs. — Power  of  the  Human  Will   258 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Yield  of  Gold. — Its  Duration. — Mormon  Gulch. — The  Distribution 
of  Gold. — Tunneling. — Damming  Rivers. — Holden's  Garden. — 
Energy  in  the  Mines. — Quartz  Mines. — Quartz  Mining  Successful. 
—The  Author  gets  out  of  his  Depth   272 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Transport  Machinery  to  the  Mine. — The  Carpenter  Judge,  and 
Constable  Rowe. — Cut-throat  Jack. — Greasers. — French  Miners 
— John  Chinaman. — Chinese  Ferocity. — The  Feast  of  Lanterns. 


— Chinese  Despotism. — False  Sympathy   288 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Firemen  of  San  Francisco. — "  We  strive  to  Save." — A  Barber's 
Saloon. — Oysters. — Places  of  Amusement. — A  pickled  Head. — 

Shooting  on  Sight   303 

a* 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Rat-catchers. — Drays. — Crested  Partridge. — A  Marvelous  Story. — 
Sailors  in  the  Mines. — A  Verdict. — The  Quartz  has  the  best  of  it. 
—I  leave  Tuttle-Town   317 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Advice  to  Emigrants. —  Gold  Countries. — Self-doctoring. —  Advice 
continued. — I  Arrive  at  Stockton   331 


CHAPTER,  XXII. 

Elections. — Executions. — Reforms. — Exiles. — "Know  Nothings." — 
Testimonials.  —  Speaking  Trumpets.  —  Ocean  Steamers.  —  Life- 
buoys.— Air-boats. — Confidence  necessary. — Fitting  a  Raft. — A 
Suggestion   342 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Hercules"  Fails.— Land  Crabs.  —  Mr.  Bobbins.  —  " Rushing"  the 
Ship.— New  York   358 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Yellow  Fever. — A  wooden  Head. — Hard  Times. — A  Gale. — We 
spring  a  Leak.  —  Acapulco.  —  Smuggling.  —  Cholera.  —  Conclu- 
sion   370 

APPENDIX   383 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS 


PAGK 

Where  the  Gold  comes  from   Frontispiece. 

Crossing  the  Isthmus   19 

Bar-Eoom  lx  California   43 

High  and  Dry   48 

Vaccaro  and  Indian   72 

Quilp   78 

Camping  Out   96 

The  Three  Martyrs   101 

The  Shoottng-Box   102 

Wester  of  1819   150 

Bowe's  Lot   190 

A  Prospector   211 

The  Sonora  Stage   233 

Horse  Auction  at  Soxora   247 

The  Umbrella   255 

Old  Soldier  axd  Choctaav   256 

The  Ladt's  Boot   262 

The  Carpenter  Judge   292 

The  French  Miner   294 

John  Chinaman   297 

The  Feast  of  Lanterns   298 

A  Flreman's  Funeral   307 

The  Mixer's  Grave   324 

Draatlng  Straws   326 

Chagres  Biter   359 

Mr.  Bobbins   364 


MOUNTAINS  AND  MOLEHILLS ; 

OR, 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  BURNT  JOURNAL 


CHAPTER  I. 

Chagres  River. — Curiosity. — Isthmus  of  Panama. — Washington  Ho- 
tel.— Ants. — A  Native  of  Virginia. — Gold  Train. — Robbery. — 
Panama  Bells. — An  Emigrant  Ship. — An  alfecting  Preacher. — 
San  Francisco. 

April,  1850. 

At  eight  A.M.,  Chagres  was  reported  in  sight ;  and 
as  we  neared  the  land,  it  presented  an  appearance  far 
from  inviting. 

The  American  steamer,  "Cherokee,"  ran  into  the 
anchorage  with  us,  and  immediately  disgorged  five 
hundred  American  citizens  in  red  and  blue  shirts. 

I  landed  with  as  much  expedition  as  possible,  and 
commenced  at  once  to  bargain  for  a  canoe  to  take  me 
up  the  river.  This  I  at  last  effected  at  an  exorbitant 
price,  and  on  the  express  condition  that  we  should  not 
start  until  sunset.  A  few  months  back  the  native 
Indians  of  this  place  considered  themselves  amply  re- 
paid with  a  few  dollars  for  a  week's  work ;  but,  since 


14 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


the  Californian  emigration  has  lined  their  pockets  with 
American  eagles,  they  have  assumed  American  inde- 
pendence ;  and  now  the  civilized  traveler,  instead  of 
kicking  the  naked  aborigine  into  his  canoe,  or  out  of 
it,  as  his  humor  prompts,  has  to  bargain  with  a  "pa- 
drone," as  he  calls  himself,  dressed  in  a  colored  mus- 
lin shirt  and  a  Panama  hat,  with  a  large  cigar  in  his 
still  larger  mouth ;  and  has  not  only  to  pay  him  his 
price,  but  has  to  wait  his  leisure  and  convenience. 

The  town  of  Chagres  deserves  notice,  inasmuch  as 
it  is  the  birth-place  of  a  malignant  fever,  that  became 
excessively  popular  among  the  Californian  emigrants  ; 
many  of  whom  have  acknowledged  the  superiority  of 
this  malady,  by  giving  up  the  ghost  a  very  few  hours 
after  landing.  Most  towns  are  famous  for  some  par- 
ticular manufacture,  and  it  is  the  fashion  for  visitors 
to  carry  away  a  specimen  of  the  handicraft — so  it  is 
with  Chagres.  It  is  composed  of  about  fifty  huts, 
each  of  which  raises  its  head  from  the  midst  of  its 
own  private  malaria,  occasioned  by  the  heaps  of  filth 
and  offal  which,  putrefying  under  the  rays  of  a  verti- 
cal sun,  choke  up  the  very  doorway. 

On  the  thresholds  of  the  doors — in  the  huts  them- 
selves— fish,  bullocks'  heads,  hides,  and  carrion  are 
strewed,  all  in  a  state  of  decomposition ;  while  in  the 
rear  is  the  jungle,  and  a  lake  of  stagnant  water,  with 
a  delicate  bordering  of  greasy  blue  mud.  As  I  had 
with  me  my  man  Barnes  and  three  large  blood-hounds, 
I  hired  a  boat  of  extra  size,  capable  of  containing  us 
all,  together  with  the  baggage ;  this  being  preferable 
to  making  a  swifter  passage  with  two  smaller  canoes, 
and  running  the  risk  of  separation.    At  about  three 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  15 

we  started;  the  "Cherokees"  in  boats  containing 
from  ten  to  a  dozen  each.  All  was  noise  and  excite- 
ment— cries  for  lost  baggage,  adieus,  cheers,  a  parting 
strain  on  a  cornet-a-piston,  a  round  dozen,  at  least, 
of  different  tongues,  each  in  its  owner's  own  peculiar 
fashion  murdering  Spanish,  a  few  discharges  from 
rifles  and  revolvers,  rendered  the  scene  ludicrous,  and 
had  the  good  effect  of  sending  us  on  the  first  step  of 
a  toilsome  journey  in  a  good  humor.  So  up  the  river 
we  went ;  and  as  Chagres  disappeared  behind  us,  we 
rejoiced  in  a  purer  air.  There  is  an  absence  of  vari- 
ety in  the  scenery  of  the  Chagres  river,  as  throughout 
its  whole  length  the  banks  are  lined  to  the  water's 
edge  with  vegetation.  But  the  rich  bright  green  at 
all  times  charms  the  beholder,  and  the  eye  does  not 
become  wearied  with  the  thick  masses  of  luxuriant 
foliage,  for  they  are  ever  blended  in  grace  and  har- 
mony, now  towering  in  the  air  in  bold  relief  against 
the  sky,  now  drooping  in  graceful  festoons  from  the 
bank,  kissing  their  own  reflections  in  the  stream  be- 
neath. 

Every  growing  thing  clings  to  and  embraces  its 
neighbor  most  lovingly:  here  is  a  bunch  of  tangled 
parasites  that  bind  a  palm-tree  by  a  thousand  bands 
to  a  majestic  teak,  and  having  shown  their  power,  as 
it  were,  the  parasites  ascend  the  topmost  branch  of 
the  teak,  and  devote  the  rest  of  their  existence  to  em- 
bellishing with  rich  festoons  of  their  bright  red  flowers 
the  pair  they  have  thus  united. 

The  teak,  which  is  here  a  very  bald  tree,  is  much 
improved  by  the  audition  of  these  parasites,  which 
give  him  quite  a  juvenile  appearance,  and  form,  in 


16 


M  OTSTAI  N  S    AND    MO  L  E  H  I  L  L  8. 


fact,  a  kind  of  wig,  to  hide  the  infirmities  of  age. 
Here  is  a  dead  and  well  bleached  sycamore  tree,  half 
thrown  across  the  river,  but  still  holding  to  the  bank 
by  its  sinewy  roots ;  and  at  its  extremity  is  an  ants' 
nest,  about  the  size  of  a  bee-hive,  and  along  the  trunk 
and  branches  green  leaves  are  seen  to  move  about  at 
a  prodigious  rate,  under  which  ants  are  discovered  on 
inspection. 

Immediately  under  the  ants'  nest  are  some  glorious 
water-lilies,  and  close  to  these,  by  way  of  contrast, 
floats  an  alligator  who  has  been  dead  some  time,  and 
hasn't  kept  well,  and  on  the  top  of  him  sit  two  black 
cormorants,  which  having,  evidently,  overeaten  them- 
selves, are  shot  on  the  spot  and  die  lazily.  So  we 
ascend  the  river;  a-head,  astern,  on  every  side  are 
canoes ;  here,  surmounting  a  pyramid  of  luggage,  is 
a  party  of  Western  men  in  red  shirts  and  jack  boots, 
questioning  every  body  with  the  curiosity  peculiar  to 
their  race.    Presently  it  is  my  turn. 

"  Whar  bound  to,  stranger  ?" 

"  California." 

"  Come  along !  Whar  d'ye  head  from  ?" 
"England." 

"  Come  along !  Whar  did  yer  get  them  dogs  ?" 

"No  whar,"  I  had  a  mind  to  reply,  but  at  this 
stage  I  relapsed  into  dogged  silence,  well  knowing 
that  there  are  some  lanes  which  have  no  turning,  and 
among  these  is  a  Western  man's  curiosity.  The  pa- 
drone of  my  canoe,  who  steered  the  boat,  had  brought 
his  wife  with  him,  and  she  sat  with  us  in  the  stern 
sheets,  laughing,  chattering,  and  smoking  a  cigar. 

I  could  find  no  heart  to  object  to  this  increase  of 


M  0  I  "  X  T  A  1  N  S    A  is  D    MOLEHILLS.  17 

our  live  freight,  and  indeed  so  far  benefited  by  her 
presence  as  to  be  able  to  practice  Spanish,  and  before 
we  arrived  at  the  anchorage  I  had  relieved  her  of  the 
false  impressions  she  labored  under,  that  my  dogs 
were  "tigers,"  and  that  some  cherry  brandy  I  pro- 
duced was  poison.  At  night,  having  reached  a  small 
village  on  the  river,  out  jumped  the  lady,  who  scram- 
bled up  the  bank  followed  by  the  boatman,  and  I 
scrambled  after  them  as  fast  as  I  could,  to  ascertain 
the  meaning  of  this  sudden  desertion ;  but  quick  as  I 
was,  by  the  time  I  reached  the  huts  that  constituted 
the  "pueblo,"  I  found  my  padrone  already  seated  as 
banker  at  a  well-lighted  monte  table,  surrounded  by 
an  anxious  crowd  of  boatmen,  natives,  and  American 
passengers,  his  pretty  wife  looking  over  his  shoulder 
watching  the  game. 

The  short  time  he  took  to  change  his  profession 
was  very  characteristic  of  the  gambling  habits  of  these 
Central  Americans. 

I  slept  in  the  canoe,  and  at  daylight  the  boatmen 
returned,  having  made  a  night  of  it.  The  monte 
banker  had  been  lucky,  he  informed  me,  and  had  left 
his  wife  behind,  to  which  I  was  ungallantly  indiffer- 
ent. Another  day  on  the  river,  and  another  night 
spent  at  a  hut,  and  on  the  third  morning  we  arrived 
at  Gorgona,  from  whence  we  had  to  take  mules  to 
Panama. 

The  bargaining  for  mules  in  Gorgona  was  in  every 
respect  similar  to  the  canoe  transaction  at  Chagres ; 
and  after  passing  a  day  in  the  sun,  and  accomplishing 
in  the  evening  what  might,  but  for  the  vacillation  of 
the  natives,  have  been  done  at  once,  we  started  for 


is 


M  0 U  NTAINS    AN  D 


MOLEHILLS. 


Panama  in  company  with  the  baggage,  Barnes  walk- 
ing from  choice  with  the  dogs.  With  our  mules  in 
a  string  we  plunged  at  once  into  a  narrow,  rocky 
path  in  the  forest,  where  palm-trees  and  creepers  shut 
the  light  out  overhead — splashing  through  gurgling, 
muddy  streams,  that  concealed  loose  and  treacherous 
stones — stumbling  over  fallen  trees  that  lay  across 
our  road — burying  ourselves  to  the  mules'  girths  in 
filthy  swamps,  where  on  either  side  dead  and  putrid 
mules  were  lying — amidst  lightning,  thunder,  and  in- 
cessant rain,  we  went  at  a  foot-pace  on  the  road  to 
Panama.  The  thunder-storm  changed  the  twilight  of 
our  covered  path  to  darkness,  and  one  of  my  mules 
missing  his  footing  on  the  red,  greasy  clay,  falls  down 
under  his  heavy  load.  When  he  gets  up  he  has  to 
be  unpacked,  amidst  the  curses  of  the  muleteer,  and 
packed  again,  and  thus  losing  half  an  hour  in  the 
pelting  storm,  file  after  file  passes  us,  until,  ready 
once  more  to  start,  we  find  ourselves  the  last  upon  the 
road.  At  Gorgona  a  flaming  advertisement  had  in- 
formed us  that  half  way  on  the  road  to  Panama  the 
"Washington  Hotel"  would  accommodate  travelers 
with  "forty  beds."  Anxious  to  secure  a  resting-place 
for  my  own  party,  I  left  the  luggage-train  under  the 
charge  of  Barnes,  and  pressed  forward  on  the  bridle- 
road. 

At  nightfall  I  reached  the  "  Washington  Hotel,"  a 
log  hut  perched  on  the  top  of  a  partially-cleared  hill ; 
an  immense  amount  of  fluttering  calico  proclaimed  that 
meals  could  be  procured,  but  a  glance  at  the  interior 
was  sufficient  to  destroy  all  appetite.  Round  it,  and 
stretching  for  yards,  there  were  mules,  drivers,  and 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


21 


passengers,  clustered  and  clamorous  as  bees  without 
a  hive.  To  my  surprise  the  crowd  consisted  for  the 
most  part  of  homeward-bound  Californians — emigrant  s 
from  the  land  of  promise,  who  had  two  days  before 
arrived  at  Panama  in  a  steamer.  Some  were  return- 
ing rich  in  gold  dust  and  scales,  but  the  greater  part 
were  far  poorer  than  when  first  they  started  to  realize 
their  golden  dreams. 

And  these  latter  were  as  drunken  and  as  reckless  a 
set  of  villains  as  one  could  see  any  where.  Stamped 
with  vice  and  intemperance,  without  baggage  or  money, 
they  were  fit  for  robbery  and  murder  to  any  extent ; 
many  of  them,  I  doubt  not,  were  used  to  it,  and  had 
found  it  convenient  to  leave  a  country  where  Judge 
Lynch  strings  up  such  fellows  rather  quicker  than 
they  like  sometimes.  They  foretold  with  a  savage 
joy  the  miseries  and  disappointment  that  awaited  all 
who  landed  there,  forgetting  that  there  traveled  on  the 
same  road  with  them  those  who  had  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time  secured  to  themselves  a  competency  by 
the  exercise  of  industry,  patience,  and  temperance. 
The  Yankee  owner  of  the  \Yashington  was  "realizing 
some,"  judging  from  the  prices  he  charged,  and  that 
every  eatable  had  been  consumed  long  before  my  ar- 
rival. The  "forty  beds,"  respecting  which  we  had 
met  so  many  advertisements  on  the  road,  consisted  of 
frames  of  wood  five  feet  long,  over  which  were  simply 
stretched  pieces  of  much-soiled  canvas — they  were  in 
three  tiers,  and  altogether  occupied  about  the  same 
space  as  would  two  four-posters :  they  were  all  occu- 
pied. 

Wet  with  the  thunder-storm.  I  took  up  my  station 


9 

22         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

on  a  dead  tree  near  the  door,  and  as  night  closed  in 
and  the  moon  rose,  awaited  the  arrival  of  my  man  and 
dogs  with  impatience.  Hours  passed,  and  I  felt  con- 
vinced at  last  that  fatigue  had  compelled  Barnes  to 
pass  the  night  at  a  rancheria  I  had  seen  a  few  miles 
back.  Rising  to  stretch  my  limbs,  I  became  instantly 
aware  of  a  succession  of  sharp  stings  in  every  part  ol 
my  body ;  these  became  aggravated  as  I  stamped  and 
shook  myself.  In  sitting  on  the  dead  tree,  I  had  in- 
vaded the  territory  of  a  nest  of  ants  of  enormous  size 
— larger  than  earwigs ;  they  bit  hard,  and  had  suffi- 
ciently punished  my  intrusion  before  I  managed  to 
get  rid  of  them.  During  the  night  file  upon  file  of 
mules  arrived  from  Panama.  These  were  unloaded 
and  turned  adrift  to  seek  their  supper  where  they 
could;  and  travelers,  muleteers,  and  luggage  were 
spread  in  every  direction  round  a  large  fire  that  had 
been  lit  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening.  Desert- 
ing my  inhospitable  tree,  I  found  myself  comfortable 
enough  among  a  heap  of  pack-saddles,  buried  in  which 
I  slept  till  morning.  With  the  first  streak  of  day 
every  thing  was  moving  ;  luggage  was  replaced  on 
kicking  mules  ;  the  sallow,  wayworn,  unwashed  ten- 
ants of  the  "Washington,"  with  what  baggage  they 
had  on  their  backs,  started  for  Gorgona  on  foot.  The 
morning  oath  came  out  fresh  and  racy  from  the  lips 
of  these  disappointed  gentlemen ;  nor  could  the  bright 
and  glorious  sun  reflect  any  beauty  from  their  sunken, 
bloodshot  eyes ;  when  they  disappeared  in  the  wind- 
ing road  leading  to  Gorgona,  it  was  quite  a  comfort  to 
me  to  reflect  that  we  were  not  about  to  honor  the  same 
country  with  our  presence.     In  less  than  an  hour  I 


MOUNTAINS     AND     MOLEHILLS.  23 


found  myself  alone  at  the  half-way  house  ;  the  crowd 
had  dispersed  on  either  road,  but  as  yet  my  baggage 
had  ii ot  arrived.  When  it  did  come  up  at  last  we 
were  all  very  hungry ;  but  as  there  was  nothing  left 
eatable  at  the  "Washington,"  we  started  for  Panama 
without  breaking  our  fast. 

Through  a  tortuous  path,  which  had  been  burrowed 
through  the  forest,  we  stumbled  on  at  the  rate  of  a 
mile  and  a  half  an  horn ;  at  times  the  space  between 
the  rocks  on  either  side  is  too  narrow  to  allow  the 
mules  to  pass ;  in  these  instances  all  our  efforts  are 
directed  to  the  mule  that  is  jammed;  heaven  knows 
how  we  get  her  clear — several  shouts,  some  kicking, 
a  plunge  or  two,  a  crash,  and,  the  mule  being  free, 
proceeds  on  her  path,  while  you  stop  to  pick  up  the 
lid  of  your  trunk,  which  has  been  ground  off  against 
the  rock,  as  also  the  few  trifles  that  tumble  out  from 
time  to  time  in  consequence.  And  shortly  afterward 
we  meet  more  travelers  homeward  bound,  some  on 
foot,  with  a  stout  buckthorn  stick  and  bundle,  and 
others  on  mules,  with  shouldered  rifles.  Each  one, 
as  I  passed,  asked  me  what  state  I  was  from,  and 
if  I  came  in  the  "Cherokee*'  steamer.  I  had  been 
questioned  so  much  after  this  manner  at  the  "Wash- 
ington,*' that  I  began  to  think  that  to  belong  to  a 
state  and  to  arrive  in  the  "  Cherokee"  would  save 
me  much  trouble  in  answering  questions,  for  my 
reply  in  the  negative  invariably  led  to  the  direct 
query  of  Where  did  I  come  from  ?  So  along  the 
road  I  surrendered  myself  invariably  as  a  44  Chero- 
kee*' passenger,  and  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  was  al- 
lowed to  pass  on  in  peace.    At  last  the  country  be- 


24 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


comes  more  open,  huts  appear  occasionally,  and  the 
worst  part  of  the  journey  is  well  over.  Still  the  hu- 
man tide  flows  on  to  Gorgona,  for  another  California 
steamer  has  arrived  at  Panama ;  and  now  we  meet 
some  California  patients  carried  in  hammocks  slung 
upon  men's  shoulders,  traveling  painfully  toward  a 
home  that  some  of  them  will  not  live  to  see.  Trains 
of  unladen  mules  are  going  down  to  meet  the  emigra- 
tion, some  with  cargoes  of  provisions  for  the  Wash- 
ington Hotel  perhaps. 

Pass  On  filth,  squalor,  and  poverty,  and  make  way 
as  you  should  for  wealth,  for  here,  with  tinkling 
bells  and  gay  caparisons,  comes  a  train  of  mules 
laden  with  gold — pure  gold  from  Peru;  as  each  mule 
bears  his  massive  bars  uncovered,  glittering  beneath 
the  cordage  which  secures  them  to  the  saddle,  you 
can  touch  the  metal  as  they  pass.  Twenty  of  these 
file  by  as  we  draw  on  one  side,  and  after  them, 
guarding  so  much  wealth,  are  half  a  dozen  armed  na- 
tives with  rusty  muskets  slung  lazily  on  their  backs ; 
but  behind  them,  on  an  ambling  jennet,  is  a  well  "  got 
up"  Don,  with  muslin  shirt  and  polished  jack-boots, 
richly-mounted  pistols  in  his  holsters,  and  massive 
silver  spurs  on  his  heels,  smoking  his  cigarette  with 
as  much  pomposity  as  if  the  gold  belonged  to  him, 
and  he  had  plenty  more  at  home.  This  gentleman, 
however,  is  in  reality  a  clerk  in  an  English  house  at 
Panama,  and  when  he  returns  to  that  city,  after  ship- 
ping the  gold  on  board  the  English  steamer,  and  get- 
ting a  receipt,  he  will  change  this  picturesque  cos- 
tume for  a  plaid  shooting-coat  and  continuations,  and 
be  a  Don  no  longer.    As  the  gold  train  passed,  I 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  25 

thought,  in  contrast  to  its  insecurity,  of  the  villains 
I  had  parted  from  in  the  morning,  all  of  whom  were 
armed.  Then  followed  a  train  much  larger  than  the 
first,  and  just  as  little  guarded,  carrying  silver.  For 
years  these  specie  trains  have  traveled  in  this  un- 
guarded state  unmolested,  not  from  the  primitive 
honesty  of  the  natives,  for  a  greater  set  of  villains 
never  existed,  but  from  the  simple  difficulty  of  turn- 
ing a  bar  of  gold  to  any  account  when  once  it  has 
been  taken  into  the  jungle.  Since  the  time  of  which 
I  am  writing  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  rob 
the  gold  trains,  but,  when  pursuit  has  been  active,  the 
bars  have  invariably  been  discovered  in  the  jungle  a 
short  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  robbery. 

The  country  became  more  open  as  we  approached 
Panama,  and  when  the  town  appeared  in  the  distance, 
we  had  no  shelter  from  the  sun,  and  the  dogs,  panting 
and  footsore,  dragged  on  very  slowly.  Here  I  found 
a  man  by  the  roadside  attacked  with  fever,  shivering 
with  ague,  and  helpless.  He  was  going  to  Gorgona, 
but  as  he  had  no  mule,  he  wished  to  return  to 
Panama.  I  hoisted  him  on  to  mine,  and  we  pro- 
ceeded ;  he  was  very  ill,  wandered  in  his  speech,  and 
shook  like  a  leaf;  and  before  we  got  into  Panama, 
aq  died  from  exhaustion.  As  I  did  not  know  what 
to  do  with  him,  I  planted  him  by  the  roadside,  and 
on  my  arrival  at  the  town,  I  informed  the  author- 
ities, and  I  presume  they  buried  him.  Weary  and 
sun-burnt,  we  arrived  at  the  gates  of  the  town,  out- 
side of  which  we  found  a  large  American  encampment, 
in  the  midst  of  which  we  pitched  our  tent.  Every 
bed  in  the  town  had  long  before  been  pre-engaged,  and 

B 


26 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


these  cribs,  after  the  fashion  of  the  "Washington," 
were  packed  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  in  a  room.  We 
slept  comfortably  that  night  under  one  of  Edging- 
ton's  tents,  the  baggage  inside,  and  the  dogs  picketed 
round  us. 

Since  Panama  has  become  the  half-way  resting- 
place  of  Californian  emigration,  the  old  ruin  has  as- 
sumed quite  a  lively  aspect.  Xever  were  modem  im- 
provements so  suddenly  and  so  effectually  applied  to 
a  dilapidated  relic  of  former  grandeur  as  here.  The 
streets  present  a  vista  of  enormous  sign-boards,  and 
American  flags  droop  from  every  house. 

The  main  street  is  composed  almost  entirely  of 
hotels,  eating-houses,  and  "hells."  The  old  ruined 
houses  have  been  patched  up  with  whitewash  and 
paint,  and  nothing  remains  unaltered  but  the  cathe- 
dral. This  building  is  in  what  I  believe  is  called  the 
"  early  Spanish  style,"  which  in  the  Colonies  is  more 
remarkable  for  the  tenacity  with  which  mud  bricks 
hold  together,  than  for  any  architectural  advantages. 
The  principal  features  in  connection  with  these  an- 
cient churches  are  the  brass  bells  they  contain,  many 
of  which  are  of  handsome  design  ;  and  these  bells  are 
forced  on  the  notice  of  the  visitor  to  Panama,  inas- 
much as  being  now  all  cracked,  they  emit  a  sound 
like  that  of  a  concert  of  tin-pots  and  saucepans.  At 
the  corner  of  every  street  is  a  little  turreted  tower, 
from  the  top  of  which  a  small  boy  commences  at  sun- 
rise to  batter  one  of  these  discordant  instruments, 
while  from  the  belfries  of  the  cathedral  there  issues 
a  peal,  to  which,  comparatively  speaking,  the  din  of  a 
boiler  manufactory  is  a  treat.    If  those  bells  fail  to 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


27 


bring  the  people  to  church,  at  all  events  they  allow 
them  no  peace  out  of  it.  The  streets  are  crowded 
day  and  night,  for  there  are  several  thousand  emi- 
grants, waiting  a  passage  to  California.  Most  of 
these  people  are  of  the  lower  class,  and  are  not  prepos- 
sessing under  their  present  aspect ;  and  many  of  them, 
having  exhausted  their  means  in  the  expenses  of  their 
detention,  are  leading  a  precarious  life,  which  neither 
improves  their  manners  or  their  personal  appearance. 
Long  gaunt  fellows,  armed  to  the  teeth,  line  the  streets 
on  either  side,  or  lounge  about  the  drinking  bars  and 
gambling  saloons  ;  and  among  these  there  is  quarrel- 
ing and  stabbing,  and  probably  murder,  before  the 
night  is  out.  The  more  peaceably  disposed  are  en- 
camped outside  the  town,  and  avoid  these  ruffians  as 
they  would  the  plague ;  but  the  end  of  this,  to  the 
evil-disposed,  is  delirium  tremens,  fever,  and  a  dog's 
burial.  With  a  good  tent  and  canteen,  an  abundant 
market  close  at  hand,  and  plenty  of  books,  the  time 
passed  pleasantly  enough,  until  I  had  arranged  for  my 
conveyance  to  California,  which  I  shortly  succeeded  in 
doing,  in  a  small  English  barque. 

It  is  nothing  new  to  say  that  the  Central  Americans 
are  an  inert  race,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Granada,  of  Spanish  blood,  seem  to  assimilate  in  habits 
with  the  famous  military  garrison  of  Port  Mahon,  the 
members  of  which  were  too  lazy  to  eat ;  for  these 
people  are  too  indolent  to  make  money  when  it  can 
be  done  with  great  rapidity  and  very  little  trouble, 
consequently,  the  advantages  of  the  Califomian  emi- 
gration are  entirely  reaped  by  foreigners.  Not  &  per- 
manent improvement  has  been  added  to  the  town,  and 


28        MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


if  this  route  was  abandoned  altogether,  the  city  would 
be  little  the  richer  for  the  millions  of  dollars  that  have 
been  left  there  during  the  last  few  years.  The  sole 
exception,  almost,  is  that  of  a  native  firm,  which  has 
amassed  much  wealth  by  contracting  for  mules  for 
transportation.  The  projected  railroad  will  be  un- 
doubtedly carried  out,  and  will  give  a  vast  import- 
ance to  the  Isthmus :  but  it  is  built  with  American 
money  and  for  American  purposes.  The  new  town 
of  Aspinwall,  in  Navy  Bay,  is  American ;  it  is  in  its 
infancy  at  present,  and  likely  always  to  remain  rather 
"thin,"  for  the  reason  that  the  marshes  that  surround 
it  render  it  unhealthy.  I  can  not  see  what  the  New 
Granadians  are  to  gain  by  all  this  exercise  of  energy 
and  capital;  some  day  or  other,  perhaps,  the  brass 
guns  on  the  ramparts  of  Panama  may  be  remounted, 
and  the  breaches  in  the  walls  will  be  repaired,  but  by 
the  time  these  events  occur,  I  think  the  flag  that  will 
float  from  the  citadel  will  not  be  that  of  New  Granada. 

^fe 

I  must  confess  I  felt  great  delight  when  we  made 
the  mountains  at  the  entrance  of  San  Francisco  Bay ; 
I  had  been  cooped  up  for  forty-five  days  on  board  a 
small  barque,  in  company  with  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  passengers,  of  whom  one  hundred  and 
sixty  were  noisy,  quarrelsome,  discontented,  and  dirty 
in  the  extreme.  I  had  secured,  in  company  with  two 
or  three  gentlemen,  the  after-cabin,  and  so  far  I  was 
fortunate.  We  had  also  bargained  for  the  poop  as  a 
promenade^  but  those  fellows  would  not  go  off  it ;  so 
there  would  some  of  them  sit  all  day,  spitting  tobacco 
juice,  and  picking  their  teeth  with  their  knives.  Occa- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  29 


sionally  they  became  mutinous,  and  complained  of  the 
provisions,  or  insisted  upon  having  more  water  to 
drink;  but  the  captain  knew  his  men,  and  on  these 
occasions  would  hoist  out  of  the  hold  a  small  cask  of 
sugar,  and  knocking  off  the  head,  place  it  in  the 
middle  of  the  deck,  and  immediately  the  mutinous 
symptoms  would  subside,  and  the  jack-knives  would 
cease  to  pick  teeth,  and  diving  into  the  sugar  cask 
would  convey  the  sweetness  thereof  to  their  owners' 
mouths ! 

Quarrels  were  of  daily  occurrence ;  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  knife-drawing  and  threatening,  but  no 
bloodshed,  and  this  was  probably  attributable  to  the 
fact  that  there  was  no  spirit  on  board. 

It  requires  a  dram  or  two  even  for  these  ferocious 
gentry  to  conquer  their  natural  repugnance  to  a  con- 
test with  cold  steel ;  and  I  may  remark  here  that  on 
first  finding  himself  among  a  swaggering  set  of  bullies 
armed  to  the  teeth,  the  traveler  is  apt  to  imagine  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  those  who  acknowledge  no  law, 
have  no  fear  of  personal  danger,  and  who  will  resent 
all  interference ;  but  a  closer  acquaintance  dispels  this 
illusion,  and  the  observing  voyager  soon  finds  that  he 
can  resent  a  man's  treading  on  his  toes  none  the  less 
that  the  aggressor  carries  a  jack-knife  and  revolver. 
One  Sunday  during  our  voyage  we  were  addressed 
spiritually  by  a  minister  who  dissented  from  every 
known  doctrine,  and  whose  discourses  were  of  that 
nature  that  rob  sacred  subjects  of  their  gravity. 

He  shed  tears  on  these  occasions  with  remarkable 
facility;  but  under  ordinary  circumstances,  I  should 
imagine  him  not  to  have  been  sensitive  in  this  respect, 


30         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


as  I  overheard  liim  during  the  voyage  threaten  to  "  rip 
up  the  ship's  cook's  guts,"  and  he  carried  a  knife  with 
him  in  every  way  adapted  for  the  contemplated  opera- 
tion. Under  all  circumstances  I  was  very  glad  when 
the  land  about  San  Francisco  Bay  appeared  in  sight. 
The  morning  was  lovely ;  and  it  needs,  by  the  way, 
a  little  sunshine  to  give  a  cheerful  look  to  the  rugged 
cliffs  and  round,  gravelly,  grassless  hills,  that  extend 
on  either  side  of  the  bay.  In  foggy  weather  their  ap- 
pearance is  quite  disheartening  to  the  stranger,  and 
causes  him  to  sail  up  to  the  anchorage  with  misgivings 
in  general  respecting  the  country.  Quarrels  were  now 
forgotten,  and  each  heart  beat  high  with  expectation, 
for  now  was  in  sight  that  for  which  many  had  left 
wives  and  children,  farms  and  homesteads,  in  hopes, 
of  course,  of  something  better  in  a  land  so  favored  as 
undoubtedly  was  this  before  us.  But  hope  as  we  will 
our  best,  fear  and  doubt  will  creep  in ;  and  who  knows 
what  blanches  the  cheek  of  yonder  man !  Is  it  the 
exhilaration  consequent  on  reaching  a  goal  where  cer- 
tain reward  awaits  him  ?  or  is  it  a  lurking  fear  that 
all  may  jprove  illusion  f 

It  is  a  more  intense  feeling,  perhaps,  than  that  of 
the  man  who  sees  before  him  the  card  which  carries 
on  its  downward  side  his  ruin  or  his  fortune ;  for  the 
gambler  can  not,  if  he  would,  find  any  stake  against 
which  to  risk  the  happiness  of  wife  and  children,  the 
affections  of  a  well-loved  home,  and  the  chance  of  mis- 
ery and  speedy  death  in  an  unknown  land.  Such  the 
emigrant  knows  to  have  been  the  lot  of  thousands  who 
have  gone  before  him ;  but  he  has  also  heard  of  rich 
"pockets"  and  "great  strikes,"  of  fortunes  made  in 


11  0  U  N  TAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


31 


a  month — a  week  — a  dsy  :  who  shall  then  say  which 
of  these  emotions  blanches  his  cheek,  as  we  now  fly 
rapidly  past  the  "  Golden  Gate"  rocks  that  guard  the 
harbor's  mouth  ? 

As  we  open  the  bay,  we  observe  dense  masses  of 
smoke  rolling  to  leeward ;  the  town  and  shipping  are 
almost  undistinguishable,  for  we  have  arrived  at  the 
moment  of  the  great  June  Fire  of  1850,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco is  again  in  ashes  ! 


CHAPTER  II. 


A  Great  Country. — Improvement. — Adventures. — Drinking-saloons. 
— The  old  Judge. — Banks. — Mine  Speculators. — Gambling-houses. 
— "  Don't  Shoot." — Climate. — High  and  Dry. 

June,  1850. 

The  fire  was  fast  subsiding;  and  as  the  embers 
died  away,  and  the  heavy  smoke  rolled  off  to  leeward, 
the  site  of  the  conflagration  was  plainly  marked  out 
to  the  spectator  like  a  great  black  chart.  There  is 
nothing  particularly  impressive  in  the  scene,  for  al- 
though four  hundred  houses  have  been  destroyed,  they 
were  but  of  wood,  or  thin  sheet-iron,  and  the  "  devour- 
ing element"  has  made  a  clean  sweep  of  every  thing, 
except  a  few  brick  chimneys  and  iron  pots.  Every 
body  seems  in  good-humor,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  stranger,  who  has  lost  nothing  by  the  calam- 
ity, should  allow  himself  to  be  plunged  into  melan- 
choly reflections !  Planks  and  lumber  are  already 
being  carted  in  all  directions,  and  so  soon  as  the  em- 
bers cool,  the  work  of  rebuilding  will  commence. 

I  found  it  amusing  next  day  to  walk  over  the 
ground  and  observe  the  effects  of  the  intense  heat  on 
the  articles  which  were  strewed  around.  Gun-barrels 
were  twisted  and  knotted  like  snakes ;  there  were  tons 
of  nails  welded  together  by  the  heat,  standing  in  the 
shape  of  the  kegs  which  had  contained  them  ;  small 
lakes  of  molten  glass  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  ; 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


33 


tools  of  all  descriptions,  from  which  the  wood-work 
had  disappeared,  and  pitch-pots  filled  with  melted 
lead  and  glass.  Here  was  an  iron  house  that"  had  col- 
lapsed with  the  heat,  and  an  iron  fire-proof  safe  that 
had  burst  under  the  same  influence ;  spoons,  knives, 
forks,  and  crockery  were  melted  up  together  in  heaps ; 
crucibles  even  had  cracked ;  preserved  meats  had  been 
unable  to  stand  this  second  cooking,  and  had  exploded 
in  every  direction.  The  loss  was  very  great  by  this 
fire,  as  the  houses  destroyed  had  been  for  the  most 
part  filled  with  merchandise ;  but  there  was  little  time 
wasted  in  lamentation,  the  energy  of  the  people  showed 
itself  at  once  in  action,  and  in  forty-eight  hours  after 
the  fire  the  whole  district  resounded  to  the  din  of  busy 
workmen. 

On  the  "lot"  where  I  had  observed  the  remains  cf 
gun-barrels  and  nails,  stands  its  late  proprietor,  Mr, 
Jones,  who  is.  giving  directions  to  a  master-carpenter, 
or  "boss,"  for  the  rebuilding  of  a  new  store,  the  ma- 
terials for  which  are  already  on  the  spot.  The  car- 
penter promises  to  get  every  thing  "fixed  right  off," 
and  have  the  store  ready  in  two  days.  At  this  junc- 
ture passes  Mr.  Smith,  also  in  company  with  a  cargo 
of  building  materials ;  he  was  the  owner  of  the  iron 
house  ;  he  says  to  Jones,  interrogatively — 

"Burnt  out?" 

Jones.  "Yes,  and  burst  up" 
Smith.  "Flat?" 

Jones.  "Flat  as  a  d — d  pancake!" 

Smith.  "It's  a  great  country." 

Jones.  "It's  nothing  shorter." 

And  in  a  couple  of  days  both  Smith  and  Jones  are 

B* 


34         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

on  their  legs  again,  and  with  a  little  help  from  their 
friends  live  to  grow  rich  perhaps,  and  "build  brick 
buildings  that  withstand  the  flames. 

This  fire  was  attributed  to  incendiarism,  but  when 
the  general  carelessness  that  existed  is  considered,  it 
is  quite  as  probable  that  it  resulted  from  accident.  It 
is  much  to  be  regretted  that  these  fires  did  not  sweep 
off  the  gambling-houses  ;  but  these  buildings  were 
now  constructed  of  brick,  and  were  tolerably  well 
secured  against  all  risk.  When  the  burnt  portion  of 
the  city  was  again  covered  with  buildings,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  judging  of  the  enormous  strides  the 
place  had  made  since  two  years  back,  when  it  was, 
by  all  accounts,  a  settlement  of  tents.  Three  fires 
had  checked  its  growth  in  this  short  space ;  but  a 
daring  confidence  had  laughed  as  it  were  at  these 
obstacles,  and  any  one  who  knew  human  nature  might 
see,  that  so  long  as  that  spirit  of  energy  animated 
every  breast,  the  city  would  increase  in  size  and 
wealth,  in  spite  even  of  conflagrations  so  calamitous. 
For  though  many  individually  are  ruined  by  the 
flames,  and  are  forced  to  retire  from  the  field,  yet  in 
a  small  community  where  all  are  armed  with  strong 
determination,  the  vacant  ranks  are  soon  filled  up 
again,  and,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  all  march  on  in  unity 
of  purpose,  and  gain  the  victory  at  last,  though  at 
ever  so  great  a  sacrifice.  Twelve  months  back  there 
was  little  else  but  canvas  tents  here,  and  a  small, 
shifting,  restless,  gambling  population :  who  was  it 
then,  when  all  looked  uncertain  in  the  future,  that 
sent  away  so  many  thousand  miles  for  steam  excava- 
tors, and  tramways,  and  railway  trucks?  who  were 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


35 


those,  again,  who  sent  from  this  hamlet  of  shanties 
for  all  the  material  for  large  foundries  of  iron  and 
brass,  for  blocks  of  granite,  bricks,  and  mortar,  for 
pile-drivers  and  steamboats?  I  don't  know — but 
these  things  all  arrived ;  and  now,  in  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  the  sand-hills  tumble  down  as  if  by 
magic,  and  are  carried  to  the  water's  edge  on  a  rail- 
road where  the  pile-drivers  are  at  work,  and  confine 
them  to  the  new  position  assigned  them  on  a  water 
lot.  The  clang  of  foundries  is  heard  on  all  sides,  as 
machinery  is  manufactured  for  the  mines — brick  build- 
ings are  springing  up  in  the  principal  thoroughfares, 
steamers  crowd  the  rivers,  and  thousands  of  men  are 
blasting  out  huge  masses  of  rock  to  make  space  for 
the  rapid  strides  of  this  ambitious  young  city.  The 
better  portion  of  the  population  of  San  Francisco  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty,  may  be  said  to  have  con- 
sisted of  adventurers ;  these  were  of  all  nations,  the 
Americans  being  in  the  proportion  of  about  one-third. 
Many  people  object  to  the  term  adventurer,  as  one 
that  has  been  generally  associated  with  a  class  who 
travel  with  scanty  purses  and  easy  consciences.  But 
Johnson  defines  an  adventurer  as  "  one  who  hazards 
a  chance;"  and  when  we  consider  that  the  population 
here  have  to  a  man  almost  made  sacrifices  elsewhere,  in 
hopes  of  the  speedier  reward  held  out  by  the  vicinity 
of  these  vast  gold-fields,  the  term  is  not  misapplied. 
Neither  is  it  one  that  should  ever  carry  opprobrium : 
while  fresh  countries  remain  to  be  explored,  and  facil- 
ities of  communication  are  daily  increasing,  I  have  no 
objection  to  call  myself  an  adventurer,  and  wish  that 
I  had  been  one  of  those  fortunate  ones  who  conferred 


56        MOUNTAINS    AND  MO.LEHILLS. 

a  vast  benefit  upon  mankind  (and  secured  moderate 
advantages  for  themselves)  by  the  discovery  of  the 
gold-fields  of  California  and  Australia.  The  most 
successful  merchants  of  San  Francisco  were  needy 
men,  who  by  chance  were  on  the  spot  when  first  the 
gold  was  discovered.  The  colossal  fortunes  that  a  few 
of  these  have  reaped,  sprung  only  from  the  chances 
that  were  open  to  all.  Sam  Brannan  is  probably  the 
wealthiest  of  these  speculators,  and  he  commenced, 
they  say,  by  levying  a  tax  on  the  profits  of  a  party 
of  Mormons  whom  he  piloted  to  the  diggings.  When 
the  Mormons  declined  to  pay  the  tax  any  longer,  he 
called  them  a  parcel  of  fools  for  having  paid  it  so  long, 
and  then  speculated  in  building-lots  and  real  estate  in 
San  Francisco  and  other  cities.  The  rapid  rise  in  the 
value  of  this  property  elevated  Sam  to  the  top  round 
of  the  ladder  of  fortune,  where  he  will  probably  hold 
on  as  long  as  he  can. 

The  stranger  in  San  Francisco  at  this  time  is  at 
once  impressed  with  the  feverish  state  of  excitement 
that  pervades  the  whole  population ;  there  is  no  at- 
tention paid  to  dress,  and  every  one  is  hurried  and 
incoherent  in  manner.  Clubs,  reading-rooms,  and 
the  society  of  women  are  unknown ;  and  from  the 
harassing  duties  of  the  day's  business,  there  is  no- 
thing to  turn  to  for  recreation  but  the  drinking-saloons 
and  gambling-houses,  and  here  nightly  all  the  popu- 
lation meet.  Where  the  commerce  engaged  in  fluctu- 
ates with  every  hour,  and  profit  and  loss  are  not  mat- 
ters of  calculation,  but  chance — where  all  have  hung 
their  fortunes  on  a  die,  and  few  are  of  that  class  who 
bring  strong  principles  to  bear  upon  conduct  that 


MOUNTAINS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


37 


society  does  not  condemn — the  gambling-tables  are 
well  supported,  and  the  merchant  and  his  clerk,  and 
perhaps  his  cook,  jostle  in  the  crowd  together,  and 
stake  their  ounces  at  the  same  table. 

Drinking  is  earned  on  to  an  incredible  extent  here  ; 
not  that  there  is  much  drunkenness,  but  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  liquor  is  daily  consumed. 

From  the  time  the  habitual  drinker  in  San  Fran- 
cisco takes  his  morning  gin-cocktail  to  stimulate  an 
appetite  for  breakfast,  he  supplies  himself  at  intervals 
throughout  the  day  with  an  indefinite  number  of  racy 
little  spirituous  compounds,  that  have  the  effect  of 
keeping  him  always  more  or  less  primed.  And  where 
saloons  line  the  streets,  and  you  can  not  meet  a  friend, 
or  make  a  new  acquaintance,  or  strike  a  bargain,  with- 
out an  invitation  to  drink,  which  amounts  to  a  com- 
mand ;  and  when  the  days  are  hot,  and  you  see  men 
issuing  from  the  saloons  licking  then  lips  after  their 
iced  mint  juleps  ;  and  where  Brown,  who  has  a  party 
with  him,  meets  you  as  he  enters  the  saloon,  and  says, 
"  Join  us  !"  and  where  it  is  the  fashion  to  accept  such 
invitations,  and  rude  to  refuse  them,  what  can  a  thirsty 
man  do  ?  The  better  description  of  drinking-bars  are 
fitted  up  with  great  taste,  and  at  enormous  expense. 
Order  and  quiet  are  preserved  within  them  during  the 
day  ;  they  are  generally  supplied  with  periodicals  and 
newspapers,  and  business  assignations  are  made  and 
held  in  them  at  all  hours.  Every  body  in  the  place  is 
generous  and  lavish  of  money ;  and  perhaps  one  rea- 
son for  so  many  drinks  being  consumed  is  in  the  fact 
that  there  is  ever  some  liberal  soul  who  is  not  content 
until  he  has  ranged  some  twenty  of  his  acquaintances 


38 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


at  the  bar;  and  when  each  one  is  supplied  with  a 
"drink,"  he  says,  "My  respects  gentlemen!"  and 
the  twenty  heads  being  simultaneously  thrown  back, 
down  go  "  straight  brandies,"  "  Queen-Charlottes," 
"stone-fences,"  "  Champagne-cocktails,"  and  "sulky 
sangarees,"  while  the  liberal  entertainer  discharges 
the  score,  and  each  one  hurries  off  to  his  business. 
There  is  no  one  in  such  a  hurry  as  a  Californian,  but 
he  has  always  time  to  take  a  drink.  There  is  gener- 
ally a  sprinkling  of  idlers  hanging  about  these  saloons, 
waiting  for  any  chance  that  may  turn  up  to  their  ben- 
efit ;  and  particularly  that  of  being  included  in  the 
general  invitation  of  "  drinks  for  the  crowd,"  which  is 
from  time  to  time  extended  by  some  elated  gentleman 
during  the  day.  These  hangers-on  are  called  "  loaf- 
ers." There  is  a  story  told  of  an  old  judge  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  country,  who  was  an  habitual 
frequenter  of  the  bar-room,  and  who,  with  his  rich 
mellow  voice,  would  exclaim,  "  Come,  let's  all  take  a 
drink ! "  Gladly  the  loafers  would  surround  the  bar, 
and  each  would  call  for  his  favorite  beverage ;  but 
when  all  was  finished,  the  judge  would  observe,  "And 
now  lets  all  pay  for  it  /"  which  the  loafers  would  sor- 
rowfully do,  and  then  retire  wiser  men. 

*       *       *        *       *       #  *.* 

Perhaps  in  no  other  community  so  limited  could 
one  find  so  many  well-informed  and  clever  men — men 
of  all  nations,  who  have  added  the  advantages  of  trav- 
eling to  natural  abilities  and  a  liberal  education.  Most 
of  these  are  young,  and  are  among  the  most  reckless, 
perhaps,  just  now ;  but  by-and-by,  when  this  fever 
of  dissipation  has  given  way  to  better  impulses,  these 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


39 


men  will  gladly  abjure  a  life  which  has  been  entailed 
more  upon  them  by  circumstance  than  choice,  and  "will 
be  the  first  to  help  to  elevate  society  to  a  standard 
adapted  to  their  real  qualities  and  tastes. 

The  banks  of  San  Francisco  are  naturally  import- 
ant, as  being  the  depositories  of  the  wealth  that  thou- 
sands are  hourly  accumulating  on  the  rich  "placer" 
fields.  These  buildings  are  of  brick,  and  have  fire- 
proof cellars ;  and  although  at  the  time  they  were 
erected  the  outlay  was  enormous,  both  for  material 
and  labor,  it  was  a  mere  trifle  in  comparison  with  the 
profits  of  their  owners.  The  banks  line  one  side  of 
Montgomery  Street,  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  the 
city ;  and  as  the  space  on  all  sides  has  been  entirely 
cleared  for  some  distance  by  the  fire,  this  row  of  build- 
ings stands  alone  just  now  and  solitary,  like  the  spec- 
ulative "  Terrace"  with  "  extensive  marine  view,"  that 
fronts  an  unpopular  watering-place  in  England.  At 
the  corner  of  a  street  is  Burgoyne's  Bank ;  you  enter 
and  find  it  very  crowded,  and  full  of  tobacco-smoke. 
Instead  of  the  chinking  of  money,  you  hear  a  succes- 
sion of  thumps  on  the  counter,  as  the  large  leathern 
bags  of  gold-dust  come  down  on  it.  Some  of  the 
clerks  are  weighing  dust,  some  are  extracting  the 
black  sand  with  a  magnet,  and  others  are  packing  it 
in  bags  and  boxes.  The  depositors  are,  generally 
speaking,  miners  who  have  come  down  from  the  dig- 
gings— fellows  with  long  beards  and  jack-boots,  and 
of  an  unwashed  appearance,  for  the  most  part.  How- 
ever, many  of  these  are  not,  by  any  means,  what  they 
seem.  They  have  just  arrived,  perhaps,  from  a  toil- 
some, dusty  journey,  and  deposit  their  gold  as  a  first 


40         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


precaution ;  and  before  the  evening  they  will  have 
been  metamorphosed  into  very  respectable-looking 
members  of  society,  and  will  remain  so  until  they 
return  again  to  the  diggings.  Large  blocks  of  quartz 
lie  about  the  room,  in  all  of  which  are  rich  veins  of 
gold.  These  have  been  sent  down  from  the  mount- 
ains to  be  assayed ;  and  the  rich  yield  that  these  sol- 
itary specimens  afforded,  led,  some  time  afterward,  to 
a  great  deal  of  very  ruinous  speculation ;  for  it  had 
been  represented  that  these  specimens  were  average 
samples  of  great  veins ;  and  it  was  only  when  money 
had  been  expended  in  large  sums,  that  it  was  discov- 
ered that  these  rich  morsels  were  merely  accidental 
deposits  of  gold,  and  by  no  means  indicated  the  value 
of  the  veins.  A  few  rich  lumps  were  brought  to  En- 
gland, and,  by  a  little  judicious  handling,  and  a  few 
public  dinners,  were  turned  to  good  account ;  and 
nothing  but  the  bungling  stupidity  of  some  of  those 
who  were  sent  here  to  jpull  the  wires  prevented  the 
consummation  of  some  of  the  greatest  swindles  that 
ever  were  imposed  upon  the  English  public.  I  feel 
sore  upon  this  point ;  for  the  dishonesty  thus  prac- 
ticed produced  an  ill  feeling  against  the  country 
which  was  undeserved,  and  the  stigma  of  fraud  and 
dishonesty  was  unjustly  cast  upon  the  whole  popula- 
tion. 

There  are  no  public  lamps  in  the  town,  at  this  time, 
so  that  the  greater  part  of  it  is  admirably  adapted 
for  that  portion  of  the  population  who  gain  their 
livelihood  by  robbery,  and  murder  in  those  cases 
where  people  object  to  being  robbed.  But  Commer- 
cial Street,  which  is  composed  entirely  of  saloons,  is 


M  0UNTAIN8    A  N  D 


MOLEHILLS. 


41 


a  blaze  of  light,  and  resounds  with  music  from  one 
end  to  the  other.  No  expense  is  spared  to  attract 
custom :  the  bar-keepers  are  "  artists"  in  their  pro- 
fession ;  rich  soft  velvet  sofas  and  rocking-chairs  in-, 
vite  the  lounger;  but  popular  feeling  runs  strongest 
in  favor  of  the  saloon  that  contains  a  pretty  woman 
to  attend  the  bar.  Women  are  rarities  here ;  and 
the  population  flock  in  crowds  and  receive  drinks 
from  the  fair  hands  of  the  female  dispenser,  while  the 
fortunate  proprietor  of  the  saloon  realizes  a  fortune  in 
a  week — and  only  has  that  time  to  do  it  in,  for  at 
the  end  of  that  period  the  charmer  is  married!  A 
French  ship  arrived  during  my  stay,  and  brought  as 
passengers  a  large  number  of  very  respectable  girls, 
most  of  whom  were  tolerably  well  looking  ;  they  were 
soon  caught  up  by  the  saloon  proprietors  as  waiting- 
women  at  salaries  of  about  £50  each  per  month,  and 
after  this  influx  the  public  became  gradually  inured  to 
female  attendance,  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  matter  of 
no  moment. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  town  is  a  square,  which,  in 
common  with  many  other  things  in  the  country,  re- 
tains its  Spanish  appellation,  and  is  called  the  "  Pla- 
za ;"  two  sides  of  this  are  occupied  by  brick  build- 
ings, devoted  solely  to  gambling.  We  have  the* 
"Veranda,"  "El  Dorado,"  "Parker  House,"  "Em- 
pire," "Kendezvous,"  and  "Bella  Union."  in  one 
row.  Most  of  these  establishments  belong;  to  com- 
panics,  for  the  amount  of  capital  required  is  very 
large.  One  or  two  of  the  houses  are  under  French 
superintendence;  companies  having  been  formed  in 
Paris,  who  openly  avowed  their  object  in  the  pro- 


42 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


spectus  they  issued.  On  entering  one  of  these  sa- 
loons the  eye  is  dazzled  almost  by  the  brilliancy  of 
chandeliers  and  mirrors.  The  roof,  rich  with  gilt- 
work,  is  supported  by  pillars  of  glass  ;  *  and  the  walls 
are  hung  with  French  paintings  of  great  merit,  but  of 
which  female  nudity  forms  alone  the  subject.  The 
crowd  of  Mexicans,  Miners,  Niggers,  and  Irish  brick- 
layers, through  which  with  difficulty  you  force  a  way, 
look  dirtier  (although  there  is  no  need  of  this)  from 
contrast  with  the  brilliant  decorations.  Green  ta- 
bles are  scattered  over  the  room,  at  each  of  which  sit 
two  "  monte"  dealers  surrounded  by  a  betting  crowd. 
The  centres  of  the  tables  are  covered  with  gold  ounces 
and  rich  specimens  from  the  diggings,  and  these  heaps 
accumulate  very  rapidly  in  the  course  of  the  evening, 
for  "monte,"  as  played  by  these  dexterous  dealers, 
leaves  little  chance  for  the  staker  to  win.  The  thin 
Spanish  cards  alone  are  used,  and  although  the  dealer 
is  intently  watched  by  a  hundred  eyes,  whose  own- 
ers, in  revenge  for  having  lost,  wrould  gladly  detect 
a  cheat,  and  fall  upon  him  and  tear  him  to  pieces, 
yet  are  these  eyes  no  match  for  his  dexterous  fingers, 
and  the  savage  scrutiny  with  which  he  is  assailed  as 
his  partner  rakes  in  the  stakes  produces  no  emotion  on 
his  pale  unimpassioned  face.  The  duty  of  a  "monte" 
dealer  is  one  of  great  difficulty ;  although  surrounded 
by  a  clamorous  crowd,  and  the  clang  of  music,  his 
head  is  occupied  by  intricate  calculations,,  his  eyes  are 
watchfully  (though  apparently  carelessly)  scanning 
the  faces  that  surround  his  table,  yet  they  appear 
to  be  riveted  to  his  cards ;  he  has,  in  the  presence  of 
vigilant  observers,  to  execute  feats,  the  detection  of 


BAR-ROOM  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


45 


which  would  cost  him  his  life — nightly  almost  he 
draws  his  revolver  in  self-defense ;  and  through  all  this 
he  must  never  change  a  muscle  of  his  face,  and  must  be 
ready  at  all  times  to  exercise  a  determined  courage  in 
resenting  the  mere  suspicion  of  dishonesty  on  his  part, 
if  such  is  expressed  incautiously  by  those  about  him. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  introductions  one  is  sub- 
jected to  in  a  Californian  crowd.  If  the  "monte" 
dealer  rises  from  his  chair,  you  will  probably  be  in- 
troduced to  him,  and  I  had  the  honor  of  shaking 
hands  with  a  murderer  quite  fresh  from  his  work, 
who  had  been  acquitted  a  day  or  two  previously  by 
bribing  the  judge,  jury,  and  the  witnesses  against 
him.*  I  should  have  declined  the  honor  had  I  learnt 
his  profession  with  his  name,  but  custom  insists  on 
your  shaking  hands  on  being  introduced  to  a  fellow- 
mortal  ;  and  to  refuse  to  do  so  is  tacitly  to  deny  one  of 
the  great  principles  of  the  model  republic,  which  holds 
that  "one  man  is  as  good  as  another;"  and,  as  I  heard 
a  democratic  Irishman  observe,  "a  d — d sight  better /" 

Amidst  all  the  din  and  turmoil  of  the  crowd,  and 
the  noisy  music  that  issues  from  every  corner,  two  or 
three  reports  of  a  pistol  will  occasionally  startle  the 
stranger,  particularly  if  they  should  happen  to  be  in 
his  immediate  vicinity,  and  a  bullet  should  (as  is  not 
uncommon)  whistle  past  his  head,  and  crack  the  mir- 
ror on  the  other  side  of  him.  There  is  a  general  row 
for  a  few  moments  ;  spectators  secure  themselves  be- 
hind pillars  and  under  the  bar ;  there  is  a  general  ex- 
clamation of  "  don't  shoot,"  which  means,  of  course, 
"don't  shoot  till  we  get  out  of  the  way;"  but  after 
the  first  discharges  the  excitement  settles  down,  and 


46 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


the  suspended  games  are  resumed.  A  wounded  man 
is  carried  out,  but  whether  it  is  a  "monte"  dealer  who 
has  shot  a  player,  or  one  gentleman  who  has  drawn 
on  another  gentleman,  in  the  heat  of  altercation,  one 
does  not  learn  that  night,  but  it  will  appear  in  the 
morning  paper;  if  the  former,  it  will  be  headed  '''Mur- 
derous affray  /"  if  the  latter,  "Unfortunate  difficulty." 
There  are  different  names  for  the  same  thing,  even  in 
a  democratic  colony !  The  climate  of  California  is 
very  healthy ;  there  is  a  tendency  in  it  to  intermittent 
fever  and  ague  in  some  parts  of  the  mountains ;  but 
in  the  mines,  sickness  has  generally  resulted  from 
imprudent  exposure,  and  the  drinking  of  the  worst 
possible  description  of  ardent  spirits.  On  the  sea 
coast  and  at  San  Francisco,  the  weather  is  very 
changeable  during  the  summer  months.  When  the 
sun  rises  and  clears  away  the  fog  that  hangs  over  the 
Bay,  the  air  is  as  pure  and  transparent  as  that  of 
Naples  ;  by  noon  the  glass  is  at  90°,  and  then  the 
sea  breeze  sets  in,  and  would  be  welcome,  but  that  it 
does  not  fan  one  gently  like  other  sea  breezes,  but 
bursts  on  you  with  the  force  of  a  hurricane,  blows  off 
a  bit  of  the  roof  of  your  house,  and  sends  the  fine 
dust  in  whirling  clouds  along  the  street,  in  such  a 
way  that  the  people  would  profit  by  lying  down  flat 
on  their  stomachs,  as  they  do  in  a  regular  Simoom! 
As  the  sun  goes  down  the  "doctor"  subsides,  after 
having  done  a  great  deal  of  good  in  airing  the  town, 
which  as  yet  is  unprovided  with  sewers.  Then  there 
creeps  in  steadily  a  heavy,  fat  fog,  which  takes  up  its 
quarters  in  the  Bay  every  night,  and  disappears  as 
before  mentioned  when  the  sun  rises — under  whose 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


49 


influence  it  does'nt  melt  like  other  fogs,  but  goes  out 
to  sea,  and  watches  the  town  gloomily,  until  it  is 
time  to  come  in  again. 

These  varieties  of  temperature  during  some  months 
are  methodically  regular,  but  are  not  productive  of 
sickness  of  any  kind.  The  front  of  the  city  is  ex- 
tending rapidly  into  the  sea,  as  water-lots  are  filled 
up  with  the  sand-hills  which  the  steam  excavators 
remove.  This  has  left  many  of  the  old  ships,  that  a 
year  ago  were  beached  as  storehouses,  in  a  curious 
position ;  for  the  fllled-up  space  that  surrounds  them 
has  been  built  on  for  some  distance,  and  new  streets 
run  between  them  and  the  sea,  so  that  a  stranger 
puzzles  himself  for  some  time  to  ascertain  how  the 
"  Apollo"  and  "Niantic"  became  perched  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  street ;  for  although  he  has  heard  of  ships  be- 
ing thrown  up  "  high  and  dry,"  he  has  probably  suffi- 
cient nautical  experience  to  observe  that  the  degree 
of  "height"  and  "dryness"  enjoyed  by  the  "Apollo" 
and  "  Niantic"  resulted  from  some  other  cause  than 
the  "fury  of  the  gale."  Leaving  San  Francisco  for 
the  present,  to  return  to  it  again  by-and-by  and  watch 
its  growth  and  improvement,  I  got  all  ready  for  a  start 
for  Benicia,  a  little  town  on  the  Bay,  from  whence  I 
intended  to  travel  leisurely  to  Russian  River.  I  had 
chosen  this  district  as  it  abounded  in  game;  and  was 
in  quite  an  opposite  direction  to  the  diggings — a  visit 
to  which  I  postponed  until  the  ensuing  summer,  my 
object  for  the  present  being  to  encamp  myself  in  some 
snug  place  in  the  mountains,  and  there  live  upon  my 
gun,  in  all  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  life  and  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  chase. 

C 


CHAPTER  III. 


Benicia. — Barnes. — A  mad  Blood-hound. — His  Death. — Grasshop- 
pers.—  Don  Kaymond. —  A  Blessed  City. —Wicked  Mules. — 
"Camping  out." — Napa. — Fourth  of  July. — Agriculturists. — So- 
noma.— Competition. — An  Irascible  Bull. 

July,  1850. 

Great  labor  and  capital  have  been  expended  on  the 
wharves  of  San  Francisco ;  there  is  little  space  left 
between  these,  and  ships  ride  at  their  sides,  and  dis- 
charge their  cargoes  with  as  much  rapidity  and  com- 
fort as  if  they  were  in  dock.  The  central  wharf  is 
nearly  a  mile  in  length,  and  from  the  end  of  this  the 
river  steamboats  take  their  departure  every  day  at 
four  o'clock.  At  these  times  the  wharf  is  always 
densely  crowded,  and  it  has  always  seemed  strange 
to  me  that  this  every-day  occurrence  attracts  a  crowd 
without  fail,  although  directly  the  boats  are  off,  every 
man  runs  back  to  the  city  as  if  he  had  forgotten  some- 
thing. Perhaps  they  come  down  on  the  chance  of  an 
explosion,  in  which  they  are  occasionally  gratified; 
whether  or  no,  there  must  be  some  great  attraction, 
for  these  curious  people  have  to  walk  a  mile  to  get 
there,  and  run  a  mile  to  get  back!  The  "Senator" 
was  our  boat,  and  with  one  leg  on  board  of  her  and 
the  other  buried  in  this  observing  crowd,  I  had  to 
work  briskly  to  get  my  provender  on  board — sacks 
of  potatoes  and  flour,  dogs,  rifles,  shovels,  and  pick- 
axes, were  handed  in  with  astonishing  celerity,  consid- 


M OUNTAINS 


A  N  D 


MOLEHILLS. 


01 


ering  that  I  was  not  born  a  porter ;  and  as  the  ship's 
bell  ceased  tolling  we  cast  off  from  the  wharf,  and 
threading  the  shipping  at  full  speed,  were  soon  steam^ 
ing  up  the  Bay.  The  "  Senator"  is  a  fine  boat,  but 
no  description  of  her  is  requisite,  as  much  finer  have 
been  described  by  travelers  who  have  sailed  up  the 
Mississippi  River.  She  came  round  the  Horn,  and 
being  the  first  boat  to  arrive  in  the  Bay,  she  realized 
most  incredible  sums  of  money  for  her  owners. 

In  two  hours  we  arrived  at  Benicia,  and  the  steamer 
ran  alongside  of  an  old  hulk  connected  by  a  gang- 
way with  the  shore.  Through  the  unusual  degree  of 
Yankee  nautical  smartness  shown  on  this  occasion,  I 
lost  some  bags  of  potatoes  ;  for  the  boat  had  scarcely 
touched  the  hulk,  than  we  were  driven  out  of  it,  car- 
rying all  we  could,  and  the  word  was  given  to  "go 
a-head'?  again,  the  gang-board  was  hauled  in,  our  pota- 
toes were  still  on  board,  there  was  no  time  for  expos- 
tulation, and  away  steamed  the  "Senator,"  while  we 
gazed  dreamily  at  her  receding  hull,  rapt  in  admira- 
tion at  the  general  smartness  that  evidently  sur- 
rounded us.  Benicia  is  a  city  in  embryo  :  there  is 
ample  room  for  building,  for  in  every  direction  extend 
undulating  hills,  covered  with  wild  oats,  but  unob- 
structed by  timber,  of  which  none  can  be  found  with- 
in many  miles.  But  the  natural  advantages  of  this 
spot  have  not  been  embraced  by  the  public,  for  one 
reason,  that  the  opposite  town  of  Martinez  is  more 
fortunately  planted  among  groves  of  trees  ;  and  for 
another,  that  no  one  requires  a  town  in  this  particular 
part  of  the  world.  So  Benicia  is  a  failure  just  now : 
and  instead  of  raising  an  imposing  front,  in  evidence 


52 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  man's  progress,  it  hides  its  diminished  little  head 
among  the  few  huts  that  stand  in  commemoration  of 
its  failure.  I  pitched  my  tent  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  beach,  and,  as  I  afterward  discovered  on 
reference  to  the  "plan  of  Benicia,"  on  the  exact  spot 
that  had  been  selected  as  the  site  of  the  "Public 
Botanical  Gardens"  of  that  nourishing  city.  Our 
party  consisted  of  three  men  and  three  dogs.  Be- 
sides Barnes,  I  had  with  me  Mr.  Alexander  Thomas, 
the  son  of  an  old  friend  of  my  father,  who  had  come 
out  to  join  the  staff  of  a  colossal  mercantile  house,  but 
the  house  had  unfortunately  exploded,  staff  and  all, 
before  his  arrival  in  the  country. 

Barnes  had  been  a  desperate  poacher,  but  for  years 
past  had  distinguished  himself  equally  as  keeper  on 
my  father's  estate.  He  was  a  good-natured,  willing- 
fellow,  possessed  of  enormous  physical  strength,  and 
could  throw  a  stone  with  such  force  and  precision, 
that  he  had  been  equally  avoided  by  the  keepers  when 
he  was  a  poacher,  and  by  the  poachers  when  he  de- 
serted their  ranks,  which  he  did,  as  many  others 
would,  the  moment  the  chance  was  offered  him  of 
making  his  bread  honestly.  My  dogs  consisted  of 
two  blood-hounds  of  the  breed  of  Mr.  Hammond  of 
Norfolk  —  Prince  and  Birkham  —  the  latter  was  of 
great  beauty,  but  of  very  uncertain  temper.  A  large 
half-bred  Scotch  slot-hound,  called  Cromer,  completed 
the  list — this  latter  had  an  unfailing  nose  and  great 
intelligence,  and  was  a  perfect  retriever  in  or  out  of 
water.  An  introductory  note  to  an  American  gentle- 
man who  resided  in  one  of  the  wooden  houses  that 
straggled  over  the  hills,  insured  me  much  civility, 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


58 


and  enabled  me  to  procure  the  mules  I  required  for 
carrying  the  tent  and  baggage.  During  the  interval 
that  elapsed  we  had  time  to  try  the  range  of  the  rifles 
at  a  target,  and  get  our  "hands  in"  ready  for  the 
mountains.  A  distressing  incident  occurred  very  short- 
ly after  arriving  at  Benicia.  We  had  been  practicing 
at  a  target,  and  were  returning  to  our  camp  with  our 
rifles  unloaded — the  heat  was  intense — the  dogs  were 
with  us,  and  I  was  suddenly  struck  by  the  conduct 
of  Birkham  the  blood-hound.  For  some  time  he  hung 
back  in  the  rear  as  if  afraid  of  us,  and  as  I  advanced 
to  caress  him  he  retreated.  There  being  evidently 
something  wrong,  I  conjectured  that  he  was  about  to 
have  an  epileptic  fit,  with  one  of  which  he  had  been 
attacked  at  San  Francisco,  but  suddenly  he  lifted  up 
his  massive  head  in  the  air,  and  delivered  that  deep 
prolonged  howl  that  only  a  blood-hound  has  at  com- 
mand, and  which  is  so  distressing  to  hear;  he  then 
started  at  full  speed  away  from  us  toward  the  hills, 
howling  and  leaping  in  the  air  as  if  in  pursuit  of 
something,  and  I  had  no  doubt  then  that  he  was 
toad.  Barnes  and  Thomas  now  loaded  their  rifles  to 
be  prepared  for  his  return  ;  I  had  expended  my  bullets 
in  target  firing.  We  had  lost  sight  of  him  in  the 
long  wild  oats  which  here  grow  to  a  great  height,  and 
scarcely  expected  him  back,  at  least  for  some  time.  I 
was  coupling  Prince  and  Cromer  together  as  a  precau- 
tion, when  suddenly  Barnes  exclaimed,  "Here  he  is, 
sir!"  and  I  had  just  time  to  seize  my  rifle  and  swing 
it  round,  bringing  the  butt  down  on  his  head,  as  he 
passed  within  a  foot  of  me. 

I  never  witnessed  any  sight  so  dreadful  as  this 


54 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


dog  when  he  turned  now  and  deliberately  attacked 
us — his  whole  appearance  was  changed,  and  the  saliva 
frothed  in  his  mouth.  He  might  have  done  much 
mischief,  now  that  he  was  in  the  humor  for  it,  had 
he  made  a  rapid  dash  at  us ;  but  as  he  stopped  short 
to  give  a  howl,  Barnes  shot  him  in  the  shoulder,  and 
Thomas's  ball  entered  his  head.  It  required  two  more 
shots  to  finish  him ;  and  painful  as  it  was  to  have  to 
kill  the  poor  beast,  even  in  self-defense,  we  could  not 
but  congratulate  ourselves  on  having  experienced  a 
fortunate  escape.  Birkham  was  a  dog  of  enormous 
power,  and  one  grip  of  his  jaw  on  a  man's  throat 
would  probably  be  quite  sufficient  to  cause  death  ;  he 
had  shown  symptoms  of  uncertain  temper  immedi- 
ately upon  arriving  in  a  warm  latitude,  and  had  twice 
bitten  me  in  the  arm  during  the  passage'  out.  Barnes 
was  a  famous  man  for  savage  dogs,  being  both  severe 
yet  temperate,  but  he  always  had  his  "  doubts,"  as  he 
said,  respecting  Birkham,  whose  great  crime  consisted 
in  showing  his  teeth  to  his  master,  a  misdemeanor 
that  required,  and  always  received  punishment.  This 
consisted  of  one  blow  with  a  short  dog-whip,  and 
only  one,  but  that  was  remembered,  particularly  by 
Birkham,  who  would  lie  down  and  place  his  great 
head  on  the  ground,  wrinkle  his  forehead,  and  sulk 
all  day,  refusing  his  dinner  and  taking  no  notice  of 
any  thing  that  passed  around  him.  Such  a  dog  is 
never  safe,  and  had  these  qualities  been  developed 
during  the  time  he  was  in  my  possession  in  England, 
I  never  should  have  brought  him  away  from  that 
country. 

Immense  quantities  of  grasshoppers  are  to  be  found 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


55 


in  the  vicinity  of  Benicia  at  this  season  ;  as  you  walk 
through  the  wild  oats  and  disturb  them,  they  hop  up 
to  an  immense  height,  in  every  direction,  and  like 
other  insects  they  aim  at  your  eyes,  which  they  hit 
with  unerring  certainty  and  great  force,  and  as  they 
are  as  hard  as  little  pebbles,  they  get  the  best  of  it 
altogether.  The  dogs  are  much  puzzled  with  them, 
and  as  they  get  knocked  about  the  head,  they  give 
short  snaps  in  the  air  with  their  eyes  shut. 

I  had  great  difficulty  in  procuring  the  mules  I  re- 
quired for  my  journey,  and  these  I  could  only  hire,  as 
a  report  of  the  discovery  of  a  "Gold  Lake''  somewhere 
in  the  mining  districts  had  taken  deep  root,  and  all 
the  Benicia  mules  had  been  called  into  requisition.  A 
fine  dashing-looking  Spaniard  rode  up  to  my  tent  one 
day  in  company  with  the  gentleman  who  had  interest- 
ed himself  to  get  me  mules  ;*  he  was  introduced  as 
Don  Raymond  Carrillo,  a  native  of  California,  and 
owner  of  a  ranche,  or  farm,  at  Santa  Rosa  Valley, 
about  forty  miles  in  the  interior. 

Many  of  the  native  Californians  whose  ancestors 
emigrated  from  Mexico,  have  good  Spanish  blood  in 
their  veins  ;  they  are  a  robust  and  well-favored  race, 
and  probably  in  this  respect  have  much  improved  the 
original  breed,  which  is  all  blood  and  bone.  Don 
Raymond  was  a  striking-looking  fellow,  well  built  and 
muscular,  with  regular  features,  half  concealed  by  his 
long  black  hair  and  beard.  The  loose  Spanish  dress, 
the  heavy  iron  spurs,  the  lasso  hanging  from  the  sad- 
dle, and  the  gaunt  but  fiery  colt  on  which  he  was 
mounted,  were  all  for  work  and  little  for  show ;  prob- 

*  Captain  J.  B.  Frisbie. 


56 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


ably  the  whole  turn-out,  including  the  horse,  was  not 
worth  twenty  dollars ;  but  he  was  more  picturesque 
in  his  mountain  costume,  than  the  best  Andalusian 
that  ever  got  himself  up  in  gold  lace  and  silver  but- 
tons for  "bolero"  or  44 bull-fight."  Don  Raymond 
not  only  offered  to  send  muTes  to  convey  out  selves 
and  baggage  to  Santa  Rosa,  but  most  hospitably  in- 
vited us  to  remain  at  his  "ranche"  until  we  could  with 
his  assistance  purchase  the  animals  we  required. 
While  we  were  at  Benicia  the  fourth  of  July,  the 
anniversary  of  American  Independence,  came  round ; 
had  Benicia  been  the  city  it  was  intended  to  be,  what 
an  opportunity  would  there  not  have  been  for  the  cele- 
bration of  this  day.  Looking  at  the  plan  now  before 
me,  I  can  imagine  the  Botanical  Gardens  thronged 
with  holiday  people,  while  the  mayor  and  corporation 
having  reviewed  the  troops  in  front  of  the  City  Hall, 
are  now  inspecting  the  Infirmary  for  the  Blind, 
which  (in  the  plan)  occupies  a  position  to  the  extreme 
right;  fire-works  echo  in  the  "Plaza,"  while  the  the- 
atre opens  its  doors  to  an  eager  crowd,  and  the  town 
pump  is  surrounded  by  little  boys ;  but  unfortunately 
Benicia  is  not  far  enough  advanced  to  enable  us  to  re- 
alize this  scene.  "  The  gardens"  produce  as  yet  but 
wild  oats ;  the  theatre  is  one  unchanging  scene  of 
parched-up  desolation  ;  the  town  pump  is  not ;  and  of 
the  "Plaza"  no  one  knows  the  limits,  for  some  of  the 
oldest  inhabitants,  in  happy  ignorance  of  the  fate  of 
those  who  "  remove  their  neighbor's  landmarks,"  have 
pulled  up  the  surveyor's  pegs  and  basely  used  them 
for  firewood ;  but  they  say  that  Benicia  will  do  bet- 
ter by-and-bv.     The  plan  is  named  after  the  wife  of 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


57 


General  Yallejo,  and  signifies  "  Blessed/'  and  rather 
appropriately,  as  under  present  circumstances  the  pro- 
prietors are  incorporated  among  those  who  are  spoken 
of  as  being  blessed  if  they  expect  nothing.  Shortly 
afterward,  there  arrived  from  Don  Raymond  eight 
mules,  in  charge  of  a  young  Californian  "Vaccaro"* 
or  cattle-driver;  the  mules  were  accompanied  by  an 
old  white  mare  with  a  bell  hung  on  to  her  neck.  It 
is  usual  to  accustom  the  mules  to  follow  a  leader  of 
this  kind,  and  without  the  old  lady  leads  the  way  they 
become  very  intractable. 

Don  Raymond  had  stated  frankly  that  he  had  no 
pack  mules  that  had  not  been  turned  out  for  a  time 
with  the  wild  horses ;  and  those  he  had  sent  us, 
though  fine,  strong  beasts,  were,  undoubtedly,  very- 
little  tamer  than  fresh-caught  zebras.  The  first  mule 
having  been  brought  forward  with  some  difficulty, 
a  cloth  was  tied  round  his  eyes,  and  he  remained 
perfectly  still  while  the  loading  was  performed  with 
great  dexterity  and  expedition  by  the  "vaccaro"  and 
one  or  two  assistants.  When  all  were  packed,  the 
blinds  were  taken  from  the  mules'  eyes,  and  without 
any  hesitation,  and  perfectly  regardless  of  the  white 
mare,  who  walked  quietly  toward  home,  away  they 
scampered  through  the  long  grass,  kicking  and  scream- 
ing. Here  goes  a  tin  kettle,  there  a  ham,  now  a  bag 
of  flour  falls  out  and  bursts,  and  the  place  is  strewed 
with  the  relics  of  our  commissariat  stores.  Two 
mules,  followed  by  the  "vaccaro,"  have  disappeared 
behind  the  hills,  where  the  sun  is  disappearing  also. 
Number  three  is  motionless  ;  for,  not  having  succeeded 

*  From  Vacca  or  Vaca — cow. 
C  * 


58 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


in  kicking  the  tent  off  his  back,  he  has  lain  down  with 
it  in  a  small  pond;  while  number  four,  having  di- 
vested himself  of  every  thing  with  which  he  was  in- 
trusted, including  the  pack-saddle,  is  making  his  sup- 
per off  wild  oats,  under  the  full  impression  that  he 
has  performed  his  day's  work  meritoriously,  and  de^ 
serves  repose.  We  employed  the  daylight  that  re^ 
mained  in  collecting  our  traps  ;  and  as  our  "  vaccaro" 
soon  returned  with  the  missing  mules  and  assistance, 
after  a  few  more  refractory  attempts  we  got  off  shortly 
after  dark,  and  took  the  trail  that  led  toward  a  village 
called  Napa. 

When  about  twelve  miles  from  Benicia  we  halted 
to  encamp  for  the  night  at  a  clump  of  trees — the  first 
we  had  seen  since  landing.  We  had  "  carte  blanche" 
to  shoot  a  calf  whenever  our  necessities  required,  from 
among  the  droves  of  tame  cattle  with  which  the  plains 
on  our  route  were  well  stocked.  Our  first  object  on 
halting  was  to  avail  ourselves  of  this  permission  ;  and 
it  being  too  dark  to  kill  with  the  rifle,  our  "vaccaro" 
brought  in  a  calf  with  his  lasso,  as  soon  as  the  mules 
had  been  unpacked  and  turned  off  to  feed.  We  had 
no  occasion  for  the  tent,  the  night  air  was  so  pure  and 
mild ;  so  we  sat  half  buried  in  the  tall  soft  grass — a 
bed  of  down  from  which  nothing  could  have  roused  us 
but  the  grateful  smell  of  the  calf's  ribs  as  they  roasted 
by  our  bright  camp  fire.  As  long  as  it  lasted,  our 
sleep  was  delicious ;  but  it  was  interrupted  most  un- 
seasonably, about  the  middle  of  the  night,  by  the  yells 
of  a  pack  of  "  coyotes"  (a  kind  of  jackal)  that  had  col- 
lected round  the  remains  of  the  calf. 

These  beasts  had  the  audacity  to  approach  us  within 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILL  S.  59 

a  few  yards.  We  killed  some,  wounded  many,  and 
the  dogs  drove  them  away  in  every  direction,  still 
they  always  congregated  somewhere,  and  sent  forth 
their  hideous  yell  in  chorus,  first  from  one  side  of  us, 
then  from  another,  and  not  until  dawn  appeared  would 
these  brutes  allow  us  to  rest ;  then  they  disappeared, 
and  I  congratulatec  myself  on  being  able  to  resume  my 
slumbers.  But  almost  immediately  after  the  "coyotes" 
had  gone,  the  sun  appeared,  and  there  was  an  end  of 
the  luxuries  of  an  oat-straw  bed  al-fresco,  for  that 
night  at  least.  The  mules  submitted  more  readily 
to  be  loaded  this  morning,  and  followed  quietly  in  the 
steps  of  the  white  mare. 

On  approaching  Napa,  which  is  distant  from  Benicia 
about  twenty  miles,  we  entered  a  very  beautiful  val- 
ley, about  three  miles  in  breadth,  studded  with  oak 
trees,  and  bounded  on  either  side  by  mountains  that 
rose  abruptly  from  the  plain,  and  whose  summits  were 
crested  with  heavy  masses  of  the  redwood  tree  and 
white  pine.  As  yet  there  was  no  sign  of  cultivation 
or  inclosure,  nor  did  we  see  a  dwelling-house  until 
the  village  of  Napa  appeared  in  sight.  But  the  whole 
of  this  rich  and  fertile  valley  ^  as  shortly  to  be  made 
productive ;  and  it  was  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
many  settlers,  who  were  now  on  the  eve  of  improving 
this  wild  tract,  that  the  little  bunch  of  houses  called 
"Napa  City"  had  sprung  into  existence. 

We  had  to  cross  a  small  stream  in  a  ferry-boat  to 
enter  Napa,  and  we  found  the  little  place  in  a  very 
lively  state.  Music  was  playing,  the  stars  and  stripes 
were  waving  from  each  house,  while  the  street  was 
thronged  with  people.    The  outside  settlers  had  come 


(30 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


in  to  celebrate  their  fourth  of  July;  it  was  now  the 
fifth,  and  they  were  in  the  thick  of  it,  and  there  was 
to  be  a  "  ball"  in  the  evening.  At  twelve  o'clock 
they  prepared  to  fire  a  salute  from  three  old  honey- 
combed cannons  that  had  probably  been  fished  up  out 
of  the  river;  whether  or  no,  a  serious  accident  imme- 
diately occurred — the  first  gun  fiisd  exploded  like  a 
shell,  blowing  off  the  arm  of  one  man  and  destroying 
the  sight  of  another,  besides  peppering  the  spectators 
more  or  less  seriously.  This  damped  temporarily  the 
pleasure  of  the  afternoon,  but  the  public  dinner,  which 
took  place  under  an  enormous  booth,  seemed  to  restore 
cheerfulness.  The  settlers  were  nearly  all  "West- 
ern people,"  small  farmers  from  Missouri,  and  other 
Western  states,  who  emigrated  with  a  wife  and  half 
a  dozen  children  to  California  in  search  of  good  land , 
on  this  they  squat  until  the  land-claims  are  decided, 
and  with  their  thrifty,  habits  make  money,  not  only 
more  surely  and  comfortably,  but  faster  than  the  min- 
ers, whose  wants  they  supply. 

The  soil  here  is  admirably  adapted  for  the  growth 
of  wheat,  barley,  and  potatoes  ;  and  although  the  price 
of  labor  is  so  great  that  these  immigratory  agricul- 
turists, having  little  or  no  capital,  can  only  till  a  patch 
of  land  at  first,  yet  so  rare  a  luxury  as  yet  is  a  vege- 
table, that  large  profits  attend  their  earliest  efforts, 
and  the  settler  of  these  valleys,  if  prudent,  is  a  rising 
man  from  the  moment  his  spade  first  raises  the  virgin 
sod. 

During  the  day  a  Mexican  tight-rope  dancer  per- 
formed to  the  crowd :  I  considered  him  rather  a  bun- 
gler at  his  work,  but  my  opinion  was  not  shared  by 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  Gl 


the  spectators,  one  of  whom,  an  old  farmer,  "  kinder 
reckoned  it  was  siqjeraatural,"  in  which  he  was  sup- 
ported by  an  old  backwoodsman,  who  said  "It  warn't 
nothing  else."  I  left  these  good  folks  in  the  height 
of  enjoyment,  and  should  not  perhaps  have  said  so 
much  about  them,  but  that  having  all  very  lately  come 
from  the  United  States  across  the  plains,  they  had 
brought  with  them,  and  as  yet  retained,  the  simple 
manners  and  wants  of  a  rural  jDopulation.  These  peo- 
ple form  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  emigration, 
for  they  come  as  permanent  settlers,  and  they  continue 
permanent  improvers.  Under  their  hands  forests  are 
cleared,  and  valleys  inclosed,  grain  is  raised  and  mills 
are  erected,  the  country  no  longer  relies  on  foreign  ven- 
tures for  its  chief  wants,  and  monopolizing  flour  com- 
panies cease  to  fatten  at  the  expense  of  a  hard-work- 
ing population. 

I  did  not  wait  for  the  "ball,"  as  I 'wished  to  reach 
Sonoma  that  night,  the  luggage  having  gone  on.  On 
our  first  arrival  at  the  Creek,  the  ferryman,  who  was 
an  American,  had  refused  all  toll  on  the  strength  of 
the  "Anniversary."'  We  could  not  but  admire  such 
a  striking  instance  of  real  charity,  as  it  enabled  many 
of  the  surrounding  farmers  to  cross  over  with  their 
numerous  families,  which  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar 
for  each  person  they  could  not  have  afforded  to  do. 
But  there  was  nothing  said  about  going  back  for  no- 
thing, and  our  Yankee  friend  having  succeeded  in  fill- 
ing the  village  gratis,  had  now  the  satisfaction  of 
emptying  it  at  a  dollar  a-head.  So  there  they  were 
like  the  nephew  of  "  Gil  Perez,"  caught  like  a  rat  in  a 
trap.     The  scenery  still  improves  in  beauty  as  we  ap- 


s 

62         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


proaeh  Sonoma ;  the  valleys  are  here  sprinkled  with 
oak  trees,  and  it  seems  ever  as  if  we  were  about  to 
enter  a  forest  which  we  never  reach,  for  in  the  dis- 
tance the  oaks,  though  really  far  apart,  appear  to  grow 
in  dark  and  heavy  masses.  Sonoma  was  one  of  the 
points  selected  by  the  early  Spanish  priests  for  a  mis- 
sion ;  the  remains  of  the  mud  church  and  other  build- 
ings used  by  the  priests  still  exist.  It  has  been 
chosen  as  a  military  station,  and  about  a  couple  of 
dozen  United  States  dragoons  are  quartered  here. 

General  Yallejo,  a  native  Californian,  who  is  owner 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  surrounding  valley,  resides  at 
Sonoma ;  he  took  part  in  some  skirmishing  which 
occurred,  previous  to  the  cession  of  California  to  the 
United  States,  between  the  natives  and  a  handful  of 
adventurers,  who  hoisted  a  flag  with  a  Grizzly  Bear 
on  it,  and  took  the  field  under  that  standard.  The 
General  was  also  on  one  occasion  taken  prisoner,  and 
perhaps  it  was  during  his  term  of  incarceration  that 
he  designed  a  tall  square  building,  which  he  afterward 
erected  here,  of  mud  bricks,  and  which  is  now  the 
principal  feature  of  the  place  ;  as  the  General  informs 
his  friends  that  this  was  intended  for  a  fortress,  they 
take  his  word  for  it,  though  it  has  neither  guns  or 
embrasures.  Overlooked  by  the  fortress  is  a  quad- 
rangle of  mud  huts ;  these  are  now  converted  into 
stores,  intended  to  supply  the  farmers  who  are  fast  set- 
tling on  the  surrounding  plains. 

But  there  are  too  many  stores  in  Sonoma ;  there 
are  so  many  people  in  California  who  can  only  live 
by  keeping  small  retail  shops,  that  directly  a  good 
opening  for  making  money  in  this  way  appears,  there 


M  O  U  N  TAINS    AND    M  OLEHILLS. 


63 


is  a  regular  rush  of  small  speculators  in  soap  and 
candles,  who  all  arrive  at  the  desired  spot  about  the 
same  time,  each  one  undoubtedly  congratulating  him- 
self that  he  alone  has  been  struck  with  the  bright 
idea.  A  man  who  came  to  the  country  m  1848,  told 
me  that  he  managed  with  great  toil  and  at  great  ex- 
pense to  get  a  large  cask  of  whisky  to  some  rich 
diggings  on  the  banks  of  the  Yuba,  where  he  com- 
menced retailing  it  at  immense  profits ;  but  on  the 
second  day  his  customers  fell  ofT,  and  he  found  that 
another  Yankee  had  also  rolled  up  a  cask  and  was 
underselling  him  higher  up  the  river.  So  he  moved 
higher  up  again  by  a  circuitous  route,  until  again 
supplanted;  and  these  two  continued  "cutting  each 
other  out,"  and  living  a  life  of  uncertainty  until  they 
formed  a  junction,  with  the  intention  of  jointly  reap- 
ing the  profits  that  attend  a  monopoly  of  the  article 
in  demand.  But  almost  as  soon  as  the  new  concern 
was  started,  up  went  a  canvas  house  by  the  side  of 
them,  and  out  went  a  board  on  which  was  written, 
"Liquor  Store."  So  with  every  opening  where  the 
chances  of  large  profits  are  held  out,  where  there  are 
so  many  calculating  speculative  people,  competition 
steps  in  and  monopoly  is  destroyed.  This  is  partly 
the  reason  why  the  San  Francisco  markets  are  so  un- 
even and  fluctuating. 

Brown  is  a  clever  fellow,  and  says  to  himself,  Coals 
will  be  very  scarce  next  fall — I'll  write  for  coals :  ev- 
ery one  else  being  as  clever  as  Brown,  writes  for  coals 
from  the  same  motives,  and  the  spring  sees  coals  tum- 
bling in  on  all  sides :  or  Brown  says,  every  body  will 
be  writing  for  coals  for  the  spring,  I  shall  advise  my 


64        MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

correspondents  not  to  ship ;  every  one  else  thinks  as 
Brown  thinks,  no  one  writes  for  coals,  and  next 
spring  coals  can't  be  had  at  any  price. 

We  pitched  our  tents  outside  the  fortress ;  and  the 
only  event  that  occurred  worthy  of  notice,  was  in  the 
fact  of  an  enormous  bull  making  a  clean  bolt  at  it, 
about  the  middle  of  the  night.  The  moon  was  up, 
and  I  presume  its  reflection  on  the  white  canvas  an- 
noyed him.  He  annoyed  us  excessively ;  for  he  not 
only  tore  down  the  tent,  but  we  narrowly  escaped 
being  trodden  upon.  As  he  stood  in  the  bright 
moonlight,  pawing  the  ground  at  a  short  distance, 
meditating  another  charge  at  us,  I  shot  him  in  the 
head,  and  he  fell,  never  again  to  rouse  honest  gentle- 
men from  their  sleep  in  the  dead  of  night,  or  wantonly 
to  destroy  private  property  for  the  gratification  of  a 
senseless  animosity. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Spanish  Grants. — Squatters. — Squatter  Fights. — A  Spanish  Ranche. 
— Good  Quarters. — Fleas. — Vanity. — Vaccaros. — Quilp. — English 
Saddles. — Antelope  Hunt. — Rattlesnakes. — Quilp  Waltzes. — Cal- 
ifornian  Horses. — Saddles. — Horse-breaking. — A  Tame  Horse. 

August,  1850. 

Leaving  Sonoma  at  daylight,  we  passed  through 
the  Sonoma  Valley,  which,  in  many  places,  but  a  few 
hundred  yards  in  width,  and  studded  with  groups  of 
oaks  and  flowering  evergreens,  has  all  the  appearance 
of  a  private  park  bounded  by  mountains — the  herds 
of  deer,  of  which  now  and  then  we  catch  a  glimpse, 
strengthening  this  resemblance.  After  following  the 
trail  for  fifteen  miles,  we  ascended  a  rise  from  which 
we  had  a  view  of  Santa  Rosa  Valley.  It  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  that  we  had  traversed,  and  was  divided 
from  it  only  by  a  small  stream,  which  marked  the 
boundary  of  either.  From  our  elevation,  the  twenty 
miles  of  well-timbered  land,  of  which  Don  Raymond 
was  owner,  lay  stretched  before  us — large  herds  of 
cattle  were  grazing  on  the  plain,  and  near  the  mount- 
ains which  bounded  the  ranche,  "manadas"  of  wild 
horses  could  be  perceived,  with  here  and  there  a  drove 
of  elk  or  antelopes. 

Previous  to  the  occupation  of  this  country  by  the 
Americans,  its  fertile  plains  had  been  granted  away 
by  the  Mexican  government,  to  such  as  chose  to  set- 


66        MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


tie  here  and  stock  the  land.  The  terms  on  which 
these  grants  were  to  be  held,  easy  as  they  were,  were 
for  the  most  part  evaded ;  and  after  a  new  settler  had 
portioned  out  for  himself  so  many  square  leagues  of  a 
fat  valley,  and  had  sent  the  record  of  his  property  to 
head-quarters,  he  built  himself  a  house,  bought  a  few 
head  of  cattle  and  horses,  which  were  turned  off  to 
breed,  and  he  became  from  that  time  a  "ranchero." 
Cattle  increased  and  multiplied,  and,  at  last,  were 
killed  for  their  hides,  which  were  sent  down  occa- 
sionally to  San  Francisco,  and  there  placed  on  board 
ship. 

By  the  treaty  formed  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  previous  to  the  occupation  of  California, 
the  original  Spanish  grants  of  land  were  guaranteed 
to  the  native  settlers  in  all  cases  where  the  claim 
could  be  properly  established.  A  commission  to  in- 
quire into  these  land-claims  was  appointed  by  the 
United  States  government,  and  its  labors  still  con- 
tinue. The  Americans,  therefore,  on  their  arrival  in 
the  country,  had  the  mortification  to  discover  that 
nearly  every  foot  of  arable  land  was  private  property, 
and  that  there  remained  nothing  but  barren  hills  and 
swamps  to  settle  on  and  improve,  under  the  pre-emp- 
tion laws  of  the  United  States.  They  therefore  squat- 
ted where  they  pleased  on  the  Spanish  ranches,  under 
the  plea  that  the  land  commissioners  might  decide  the 
grant  on  which  they  were  to  be  illegal ;  but,  in  reality, 
because  each  man  wanted  a  piece  of  land  and  was  de- 
termined to  have  it — the  Spanish  owners  being  pow- 
erless to  dispossess  them  of  the  part  they  chose  to  se- 
lect.   The  consequence  is,  that  even  now,  in  "  eight- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  (57 


een  hundred  and  fifty-four,*'  when  most  of  the  land- 
claims  have  been  confirmed  by  the  commissioners,  the 
Spanish  owner  of  a  ranche  may  cast  his  eye  over  the 
property  that  was  but  the  other  day  a  waving  tract  of 
wild  grass,  and  behold  it  is  parceled  out  and  inclosed, 
and  cultivated  from  end  to  end ;  and  from  squatters" 
huts  curls  the  smoke  on  every  side.  Armed  with  the 
law,  the  Spanish  owner  says  "Yamos  usted*5  (be 
off) ;  armed  with  his  rifle,  the  squatter  says  some- 
thing much  ruder,  but  to  the  purpose,  and  remains. 
Already  have  there  been  serious  squatter  fights  ;  the 
papers  daily  record  "  Squatter  difficulties,*"  in  which 
men  fight,  and  shed  each  other's  blood  savagely,  over 
a  patch  of  soil  which,  in  many  instances,  belongs  to 
neither  of  them :  so  that  one  of  the  wisest  and  most 
beneficent  laws  of  the  United  States  is  here  produc- 
tive of  evil  to  society. 

The  squatters  in  the  vicinity  of  Sacramento  City 
organized  themselves  into  a  banditti,  and  fought  "en 
masse'*  in  defense  of  their  stolen  property  ;  but  they 
had  made  the  great  mistake  of  squatting  on  land  that 
belonged  to  Americans  ;  these  latter  sallied  from  the 
city  with  the  mayor  at  their  head,  and  the  squatters 
were  defeated,  and  retired  with  loss,  leaving  some 
dead  on  the  field — -not,  however,  without  riddling  the 
mayor,  who  behaved  with  great  courage,  and  who 
must  have  been  much  damaged,  as  the  cost  of  repair- 
ing him,  when  sent  in  to  government  by  his  medical 
attendant,  amounted  to  about  two  thousand  pounds 
sterling.  But  as  there  are  reasonable  men  among  all 
classes,  so  among  the  squatters  are  to  be  found  manv 
who  are  willing  to  purchase  their  claims,  conditionally 


68 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


on  the  owner's  grant  being  eventually  found  to  be 
valid  ;  still,  taken  altogether,  the  subject  will  be  one 
of  endless  strife,  if  not  bloodshed. 

Hundreds  have  settled  down  quietly  on  land  from 
which  the  present  owners  are  unwilling  or  unable  to 
dislodge  them.  These  men  will  raise  around  them 
permanent  improvements,  and  will  look  to  the  few 
acres  of  land  they  have  inclosed  for  a  livelihood  for 
themselves  and  families  ;  a  year  or  two  hence,  per- 
haps, the  land  they  have  appropriated  will  change 
hands,  and  the  new  purchaser  will  ask  his  belligerent 
friends  down,  as  I  have  witnessed  more  than  once,  to 
stay  at  his  house  and  help  him  to  '-'•turn  off  the  squat- 
ters." Down  go  the  friends  and  take  their  fire-arms, 
as  coolly  as  if  they  were  accepting  an  invitation  to  a 
week's  partridge  shooting.  Occasionally  when  the 
proprietor  and  his  friends,  armed  to  the  teeth,  present 
themselves  at  the  door  of  a  squatter's  log-hut,  they 
find  the  owner  surrounded  by  his  friends,  prepared  to 
resist  intrusion.  Sometimes  the  rival  parties  exchange 
shots  ;  but  I  have  always  found  that  in  these  cases, 
the  owner  of  the  property  has  walked  quietly  back 
again,  and  the  squatter  has  remained. 

****** 

We  dismounted  at  the  door  of  a  long,  low  u  adobe"* 
house,  where  we  were  met  and  hospitably  greeted  by 
Don  Eavmond.  Having  much  refreshed  ourselves  by 
bathing  in  the  rivulet  which  ran  past  the  house,  we 
were  rejoiced  to  find  that  our  host  had  prepared  a 
dinner,  for  of  this  we  were  in  need ;  and  while  we  ate, 
a  couple  of  Indian  girls  tickled  our  ears  and  noses 

*  Sun-dried  brick. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


69 


with  long  green  boughs,  with  the  intention  of  keeping 
off  the  flies.  We  cheerfully  acknowledged  the  merit, 
not  only  of  the  Mexican  cookery,  but  of  the  native 
wine  of  the  South,  which  our  host  brought  out  for  the 
occasion.  We  were  then  introduced  to  his  wife  and 
two  sisters  ;  these  latter  were  young,  with  handsome 
sun-burnt  faces.  My  knowledge  of  Spanish  was  very 
limited,  but  I  always  prefaced  my  remarks  by  a  state- 
ment of  this  fact ;  thus  I  relieved  myself  from  the 
necessity  of  paying  those  unmeaning  compliments 
which,  particularly  when  delivered  in  bad  Spanish, 
must  be  highly  amusing  to  Mexican  ladies.  As  there 
was  an  absence  of  ceremony,  and  an  evident  wish  on 
the  part  of  the  family  to  set  us  at  our  ease,  before 
night  we  were  on  excellent  terms ;  and  while  one  of 
the  "vaccaros"  played  the  guitar,  we  waltzed.  Don 
Raymond  produced  more  wine  of  the  South  and  "cig- 
arittas"  in  abundance ;  and  when  the  ladies  retired 
and  Don  Raymond  showed  me  to  my  quarters,  I  de- 
termined on  not  hurrying  myself  respecting  the  pur- 
chase of  mules  so  long  as  the  hours  could  be  made  to 
pass  so  agreeably ;  as  for  Thomas,  into  whose  head 
the  wine  of  the  South  had  mounted,  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  he  could  be  prevented  from  em- 
bracing Don  Raymond  in  the  warmth  of  his  satisfac- 
tion. Our  host  then  left  us,  and  we  were  immediately 
attacked  by  the  fleas  with  a  vigor  that  was  perfectly 
astonishing. 

In  the  course  of  my  experience  I  have  been  tor- 
tured by  sand-flies  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and 
have  made  acquaintance  with  every  kind  of  mosquito, 
from  Malta  to  Acapulco,  including,  of  course,  the  fa- 


70         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


mous  "tiger"  breed,  against  which  there  is  no  re- 
source but  flight.  I  remember  that,  when  sick  at 
Hong-Kong,  I  was  crammed  into  the  cabin  of  an  old 
store-ship,  so  full  of  cockroaches,  and  these  so  raven- 
ous, that  they  kept  my  toe-nails  quite  close  every  night, 
and  would  even  try  the  flavor  of  the  top  of  my  head ; 
and  when  they  found  that  to  be  all  bone,  they  eat 
my  hair  and  whiskers — the  last  circumstance  being 
very  annoying,  from  the  fact  that  whiskers  were 
scarce  with  me  in  those  days ;  but  I  would  have  pre- 
ferred any  of  these  annoyances  to  the  attack  of  those 
Santa  Rosa  fleas.  On  lighting  a  candle  we  found  the 
place  alive  with  them ;  unlike,  both  in  appearance 
and  manner,  the  modest  flea  of  ordinary  life,  that 
seeks  concealment  as  soon  as  by  accident  it  is  un- 
earthed, these  insects,  reared  in  the  rough  school  of  a 
wild  bullock's  hide,  boldly  faced  as  they  attacked  us. 
We  discovered  the  next  day  that  the  room,  the  floor 
and  walls  of  which  were  of  earth,  had  contained  hides, 
and  had  been  cleared  out  for  the  purpose  of  our  ac- 
commodation. 

But,  as  a  general  rule,  the  Californian  houses  are 
alive  with  fleas ;  they  thrive  in  the  cracks  of  the  mud- 
brick  walls  and  in  the  hides  with  which  these  places 
are  always  strewed.  No  pains  are  taken  to  eject 
them,  and  Don  Raymond  remarked,  on  our  mention- 
ing the  fact,  that  we  should  get  used  to  them ;  he 
and  his  family  never  gave  the  little  "  malditos"  a 
thought. 

After  an  early  breakfast  of  "  tortillas"  and  fresh 
milk  we  commenced  at  once  to  look  up  our  shooting 
gear.    Close  to  us,  on  one  side,  was  a  marsh  full  of 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


71 


wild  fowl,  and,  stretching  for  miles  round,  was  the 
wooded  plain,  covered  with  grass,  in  some  places  as 
tall  as  ourselves.  This  plain,  our  host  assured  us, 
abounded  with  deer,  elk,  and  antelope.  For  a  reason, 
which  afterward  appeared,  Don  Raymond  was  very 
anxious  that  Thomas  and  I  should  mount  two  of  his 
horses,  and,  in  company  with  some  of  his  Spanish 
friends,  ride  over  the  ranche ;  we  were  to  take  our 
rifles  and  shoot  all  that  came  in  our  way.  I  should, 
of  course,  have  preferred  to  have  been  allowed  to  go 
out  on  foot  and  seek  my  venison  in  a  more  sports- 
man-like manner  than  in  the  company  of  a  dozen 
clattering,  jingling  "  Caballeros ;"  but  I  could  not  do 
otherwise  than  accept  the  invitation,  particularly  as 
it  suggested  itself  to  me  that  Don  Raymond's  main 
object  in  mounting  us  was  that  we  should  at  once 
appreciate  the  beauty  and  extent  of  the  Santa  Rosa 
Ranche. 

So  that  even  among  these  most  primitive  of  agri- 
culturists vanity  of  possession  stands  uppermost  in 
all  its  vulgarity ;  what  has  this  man,  I  thought,  to 
show  me  but  a  tract  of  land,  rich  certainly  in  nature's 
gifts,  but  in  which  his  only  pride  consists  that  he 
owns  it  ?  I  could  have  seen  it  much  better  by  my- 
self when  walking  over  it,  but  to  please  his  egotism  I 
must  admire  it  his  way  and  sacrifice  my  own  pleas- 
ure ;  but  how  I  hugged  myself  when  I  considered 
that  here  at  least  were  no  fat  pigs,  no  model  styes, 
with  which  to  bore  one ;  no  oatcake-fed  bullocks  to 
be  measured  with  a  cambric  pocket-handkerchief  and 
praised,  while  you  held  your  nose ;  not  even  a  heap 
of  "  compo-manure"  to  sit  and  gloat  over.    At  the 


72 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


VACCAKO  AND  INDIAN. 


worst  it  was  but  a  pleasant  gallop  over  the  wild  oats, 
in  a  pure  air,  and  through  a  lovely  country. 

In  front  of  the  house  was  a  court-yard  of  consider- 
able extent,  and  part  of  this  was  sheltered  by  a  porch. 
Here,  when  the  "vaccaros"  have  nothing  to  call  them 
to  the  field,  they  pass  the  day,  looking  like  retainers 
of  a  rude  court.  A  dozen  wild,  vicious  little  horses, 
with  rough  wooden  saddles  on  their  backs,  stand  ever 
ready  for  work;  while  lounging  about,  the  "vaccaros" 
smoke,  play  the  guitar,  or  twist  up  a  new  "riatta"* 
of  hide  or  horse-hair.  When  the  sun  gets  warm  they 
go  to  sleep  in  the  shade,  while  the  little  horses,  who 
remain  in  the  sunshine,  do  the  same  apparently,  for 
they  shut  their  eyes  and  never  stir.    Presently  a 

*  Lasso. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  73 

"vaccaro,"  judging  the  time  by  the  sun,  gets  up 
and  yawns,  and  staggering  lazily  toward  his  horse, 
gathers  up  his  "riatta"  and  twists  it  round  the  ani- 
mal's neck ;  the  others,  awakened,  rise  and  do  the 
same,  all  yawning  with  their  eyes  half  open,  looking 
as  lazy  a  set  as  ever  were  seen,  as  indeed  they  are 
when  on  foot.  Huppa! — An  da! — away  they  all  go 
in  a  cloud  of  dust,  splashing  through  the  river,  wav- 
ing their  lassos  round  their  heads  with  a  wild  shout, 
and  disappearing  from  the  sight  almost  as  soon  as 
mounted.  The  "  vaccaro"  wants  at  all  times  to  ride 
furiously,  and  the  little  horses'  eyes  are  opened  wide 
enough  before  they  receive  the  second  dig  of  their 
rider's  iron  spurs. 

We  found  great  bustle  and  preparation  going  on 
in  the  court-yard  when  we  rose :  it  was  full  of  horses 
and  "vaccaros;"  and  some  neighboring  ranche  owners 
having  arrived,  their  horses,  which  were  handsome 
and  of  large  size,  were  standing  near  the  house, 
champing  their  bits.  The  saddles  and  bridles  of 
these  were  ornamented  with  silver,  and  the  stirrup- 
leathers  were  covered  with  bear  skins  in  such  a  way 
as  to  form  a  very  secure  armor  for  the  legs  against  the 
attacks  of  wild  cattle. 

Breakfast  over,  the  Spanish  guests  were  introduced ; 
they  were  all  fine  dashing-looking  fellows,  with  the 
exception  of  one,  a  short  stout  man ;  from  the  first 
moment  of  our  meeting  war  was  tacitly  declared  be- 
tween us  and  this  gentleman.  We  found  that  he  was 
a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  the  eldest  sister,  who,  by  the 
way,  owned  a  part  of  the  ranche,  and  I  suppose  he 
imagined  it  was  our  intention  to  contest  this  prize 

T) 


74         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


with  him ;  for  he  commenced  at  once  to  show  his  dis- 
approbation of  our  presence.  We  called  this  fellow 
Quilp.  Each  of  the  party  had  his  horse  waiting  in 
readiness — ours  had  yet  to  be  selected  from  a  drove 
of  about  a  hundred,  which  were  inclosed  in  a  "corral,*' 
or  circular  inclosure,  that  was  close  by  the  house. 
The  wild  horses  of  the  country  generally  are  small — 
of  these  I  shall  speak  by-and-by — but  Don  Raymond, 
who  took  the  lead  among  the  just  Californians,  prided 
himself  on  the  possession  of  a  "manada"  of  horses  of 
a  superior  breed;  these  he  had  pointed  out  to  me  the 
day  before,  and  among  them  I  had  observed,  all 
rough  as  they  were,  some  fine  beasts.  A  few  steps 
brought  us  to  the  "corral;"  Quilp  in  the  foreground, 
muttering  something  which  we  took  for  granted  was 
insidious  advice  to  Raymond  to  pick  us  out  "wild 
ones." 

"You  English  ride?"  asked  Raymond.  I  replied 
modestly,  that  we  rode  a  little  sometimes,  as  I  knew 
that  the  slightest  approach  to  assurance  on  my  part 
would  be  the  signal  for  a  wild  stallion  being  selected 
for  my  accommodation.  However,  Raymond  picked 
us  out  two  high-spirited,  but  broken-in  beasts,  that 
seemed  about  as  well  behaved  as  any  that  were  there. 
When  they  were  brought  into  the  court,  and  blinded 
as  usual,  Thomas  and  I  produced  and  girthed  up  our 
English  saddles,  on  which  we  had  ridden  up  from 
Benicia ;  we  were  immediately  surrounded  by  the 
whole  crowd  of  guests  and  "vaccaros."  Bah!  those 
were  not  saddles — there  was  no  horn  to  which  to 
fasten  the  lasso — the  stirrups  did  not  protect  the  foot 
and  leg  when  the  horse  fell  down  and  rolled  over  you ! 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


75 


I  did  not  know  Spanish  enough  To  answer  them,  and 
perhaps  it  was  as  well,  for  I  should  most  certainly 
have  addressed  myself  to  Quilp  most  strongly  on  the 
subject,  as  the  instant  he  saw  my  ''pigskin"  he  made 
a  point  of  turning  up  what  nose  Providence  had  en- 
dowed him  with,  and  that  was  not  much.  But  I 
obseiwed  with  pleasure  that  their  observations  were 
directed  principally  to  the  fact  of  the  flat  smooth  sur- 
face of  our  saddles  as  compared  with  their  "denri- 
peaks,"  from  which  the  body  receives  support  on 
every  side.  Thomas  had  a  line  seat  on  a  horse,  and 
both  of  us  had  had  some  practice  in  rough  riding 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  or  otherwise  I  should  have 
remonstrated  with  Raymond  respecting  the  wish  so 
evidently  expressed  by  his  friends  of  amusing  them- 
selves at  our  expense. 

I  had  but  one  rifle  I  could  cany  on  horseback,  so 
slinging  that  on  my  back,  away  we  went,  and  as  the 
horses  warmed  under  their  exercise,  and  we  shook 
ourselves  into  ©he  seats,  I  observed  with  pleasure 
that  Thomas  was  both  sitting  and  handling  his  horse 
well,  and  took  the  fallen  timber  that  came  in  our  way 
in  capital  style.  However,  to  shorten  this  part  of 
the  story,  the  Spaniards  soon  became  less  bumptious 
on  the  subject,  and  we  flew  over  the  plain  at  great 
speed. 

Before  long  we  saw  a  herd  of  antelope  grazing  at 
some  distance,  and  the  Spaniards  pulled  up  and  pre- 
pared their  lassos.  The  antelope  at  this  time  of  the 
year  are  Very  fat,  and  comparatively  speaking  do  not 
run,  or  bound  rather,  fast  through  the  long  grass,  so 
that  if  headed  there  is  a  chance  for  an  expert  horse- 


76 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


man  to  catch  one  with  the  "riatta,"  and  it  was  with 
the  intention  of  showing  me  if  possible  this  feat,  that 
our  host  had  made  up  the  party.  I  had  no  sooner 
unslung  my  rifle  than  I  was  satisfied  that  there  was 
no  possibility  of  shooting  from  the  saddle,  for  my 
beast,  who  would  have  been  quiet  as  a  lamb  had  I 
whirled  a  lasso  round  his  head,  became  unmanageable 
at  the  presence  of  the  rifle.  We  were  to  ride  round 
and  head  the  antelope  while  the  "vaccaros"  drove 
them  toward  us.  As  we  galloped  through  the  long 
grass  toward  the  position  chosen,  I  told  Thomas  to 
keep  close  to  me  and  prepare  to  hold  my  horse,  for  I 
felt  it  would  be  excessively  annoying  if  such  a  fellow 
as  Quilp  for  instance  should  catch  an  antelope  with 
his  bit  of  rope,  and  I  be  debarred  from  even  a  shot  at 
the  herd. 

When  we  were  well  ahead  of  them,  the  drove  start- 
ed at  the  sight  of  the  "vaccaros,"  and  a  few  strides 
of  our  horses  brought  some  of  us  right  in  the  line 
they  were  taking ;  my  foot  had  scarcely  left  the  stir- 
rup when  they  flew  past  with  rapid  bounds.  Don 
Raymond  spurred  at  the  headmost  bucks,  but  his 
lasso  fell  short ;  three  does  brought  up  the  rear ;  at 
one  of  these  I  fired  and  wounded  it,  but  it  plunged 
into  the  thicket  with  the  rest.  Seeing  that  nothing 
had  fallen  to  the  report  of  the  rifle,  the  Spaniards 
now  went  slowly  homeward;  while  I  searched  the 
thicket  and  found  my  doe  dying  within  a  few  hun- 
dred yards.  Raymond  returned  for  us,  and  leaving 
the  venison  in  charge  of  the  "vaccaros,"  we  rode 
home.  On  the  way  I  succeeded  in  explaining  to 
Eaymond  that  we  preferred  hunting  the  deer  on  foot 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


77 


not  only  for  the  advantages  of  exercise,  but  of  the 
cover  which  was  afforded  by  the  long  grass. 

Raymond  now,  for  the  first  time,  pointed  out  to  me 
that  the  rattlesnakes  were  very  abundant  in  the  val- 
ley, and  this  we  afterward  discovered  to  be  true.  It 
destroyed  in  a  great  measure  the  pleasure  of  our 
sport,  for  we  lost  many  a  good  shot  from  looking  on 
the  ground — which  men  are  apt  to  do  occasionally 
when  once  satisfied  of  the  existence  of  a  venomous 
reptile,  the  bite  of  which  is  by  all  accounts  mortal. 
The  rattlesnake  is  seldom  seen ;  it  glides  away  through 
the  long  grass  on  the  approach  of  man  or  beast,  and 
for  this  reason  cattle  are  seldom  bitten  by  it.  But  it 
allows  you  to  approach  very  closely  before  it  moves, 
and  the  rattle  of  its  tail  even  in  retreat  is  very  un- 
pleasant to  hear.  Higher  up  the  country  we  after- 
ward killed  one  or  two  young  ones ;  but  we  soon  ex- 
ercised such  precautions  as  insured  our  not  being 
brought  too  frequently  in  contact  with  them.  I  have 
heard  of  many  remedies  for  rattlesnake  bites,  and  of 
many  fatal  cases  ;  but  had  any  of  my  party  been  un- 
fortunate enough  to  have  been  bitten  very  seriously, 
it  was  agreed  between  us  that  the  unbitten  ones 
should  immediately  apply  a  red-hot  iron  to  the  part 
affected,  and  then  give  the  victim  a  powerful  dose  of 
castor-oil,  and  leave  him  to  repose ;  but  I  doubt  if 
the  complete  cautery  would  have  been  carried  out ! 

Before  we  arrived  at  the  house  Quilp  had  got  scent 
of  the  antelope,  and  had  departed. 

From  this  time  we  found  ample  employment  for 
our  guns,  and  soon  succeeded  in  bringing  in  some 
black-tailed  deer.    Hares  were  in  abundance  close  to 


78         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


QUILP. 


the  house,  while  in  the  marshes  wild  fowl  were  plenti- 
ful, so  that  Ave  kept  our  host's  larder  well  stored,  and 
Quilp  (who  returned  and  made  himself  quite  at  home) 
became  quite  sleek  from  good  living. 

As  we  were  always  tired  with  our  day's  work,  and 
had,  moreover,  our  guns  to  clean,  we  left  Quilp  to  do 
all  the  waltzing ;  and  when  he  had  enjoyed  this  pas- 
time until  he  panted  like  an  over-driven  prize  ox,  he 
would  sit  down  on  a  stool  in  the  porch,  and  throwing 
one  leg  over  the  other,  would  twang  the  old  guitar 
and  accompany  it  with  a  Spanish  hymn  to  the  Vir- 
gin, which,  being  delivered  in  a  dismal  falsetto,  bore 


M  0  I'XTAINs    AXD    M  OX  E  HILLS, 


79 


much  resemblance  to  the  noise  of  a  wheelbarrow  that 
requires  greasing,  and  was  about  as  musical. 

The  small  native  horses  of  the  country  are  remark- 
able for  sureness  of  foot  and  great  powers  of  endur- 
ance ;  half-starved,  unshod,  and  overweighted,  these 
ponies  will  perform  long  journeys  at  great  speed,  with 
great  courage ;  but  alas  !  for  them,  in  a  country  where 
horse-flesh  is  so  cheap  and  riders  are  so  merciless, 
the  noble  qualities  of  this  animal  meet  no  reward ; 
and  the  long  day's  journey  bravely  accomplished,  the 
"vaccaro*'  takes  his  saddle  off  the  panting  beast,  and 
turns  him  off  to  die  or  not,  according  to  his  constitu- 
tion. 

The  Californian  saddle  is  very  rough  in  appearance, 
being  formed  simply  of  wood  and  hide,  but  great  care 
is  bestowed  both  on  the  material  and  form,  and  for 
the  duties  required  of  them  they  are  admirable.  The 
"  vaccaro"'  is  in  his  saddle  all  day,  and  it  forms  his 
pillow  by  night ;  when  once  he  gets  a  good  "  saddle- 
tree,"' nothing  can  induce  him  to  part  with  it,  and  you 
may  see  a  dozen  of  these  "  vaccaros"  standing  round 
a  rusty-looking  saddle,  listening  to  its  owner's  praises 
as  he  points  out  its  beauties.  These  saddles  are  also 
well  adapted  for  long  journeys,  affording,  as  they  do, 
so  much  support  to  the  body. 

"When  the  tame  horses  attached  to  a  ranche  begin 
to  be  "used  up"  with  hard  work,  and  the  stud  re- 
quires replenishing,  the  "  vaccaros"  start  for  the 
mountains,  and  return  shortly  driving  before  them  a 
band  of  wild  colts,  which,  with  some  difficulty,  they 
force  into  the  corral,  where  they  are  inclosed.  The 
"vaccaros"  now  enter  to  select  the  likely  colts,  the 


80 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


mad  herd  fly  round  the  corral,  but  the  unerring  lasso 
arrests  the  career  of  the  selected  victim,  who  is  dragged, 
with  his  fore-feet  firmly  planted  in  the  ground,  half- 
strangled,  to  the  court-yard,  where  a  strong  leather 
blind  is  at  once  placed  over  his  eyes ;  at  this  he 
hangs  his  head,  and  remains  quite  still,  his  fore-feet 
still  planted  in  the  ground  ready  to  resist  any  for- 
ward movement.  Then  the  "vaccaro,"  always  keep- 
ing his  eye  on  the  horse's  heels  and  mouth,  places  a 
folded  blanket  on  his  back,  and  on  that  the  saddle, 
divested  of  all  encumbrances,  this  he  girths  up  with 
all  his  power ;  the  bridle  is  on  in  an  instant,  so 
simple  is  its  construction :  how  free  from  ornament  is 
the  bit,  how  plain  and  unpretending  is  that  rusty 
iron  prong,  which,  at  the  least  pressure  on  the  rein, 
will  enter  the  roof  of  the  horse's  mouth.  Now  the 
"vaccaro"  is  seated,  and  nothing  remains  but  to  re- 
move the  blind;  this  is  done  by  an  assisting  "vac- 
caro," who  gets  bit  on  the  shoulder  for  his  trouble, 
and  the  work  begins.  Single  jumps,  buck  jumps, 
stiff-legged  jumps ;  double  kicks ;  amalgamated  jumps 
and  kicks,  aided  by  a  twist  of  the  back-bone ;  plunges 
and  rears ;  these  constitute  his  first  efforts  to  dislodge 
the  "vaccaro,"  who  meets  each  movement  with  a  dig 
of  his  long  iron  spurs :  then  the  horse  stands  still 
and  tries  to  shake  his  burden  off ;  finally,  he  gives  a 
few  mad  plunges  in  the  air,  and  then  falls  down  on 
his  side. 

It  is  now  that  the  formation  of  the  Californian  sad- 
dle and  the  large  wooden  stirrups  protect  the  rider: 
a  small  bar  lashed  crossways  to  the  peak  of  the  sad- 
dle prevents  the  horse  from  rolling  over,  and  when  he 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  81 

rises  liis  tormentor  rises  with  him  unhurt ;  finding  all 
efforts  useless,  he  bounds  into  the  plain,  to  return  in 
a  few  hours  sobbing,  panting,  but  mastered.  The 
blind  is  again  put  on,  the  saddle  and  bridle  removed, 
several  buckets  of  cold  water  are  thrown  over  his  reek- 
ing sides,  and  he  is  turned  into  the  "  corral,"  an  as- 
tonished horse,  to  await  the  morrow,  when  his  lesson 
will  proceed,  and  receive  less  opposition  from  him ! 
In  three  days  he  is  considered  broken,  and  is  called  a 
"manzo,"  or  tame  horse;  but  admirably  as  docility 
has  been  inculcated  in  this  short  period,  he  is  not  yet 
by  any  means  the  sort  of  horse  that  would  suit  those 
elderly  gentlemen  who  advertise  in  the  "  Times"  for 
a  "  quiet  cob,"  nor  indeed  is  he  fit  for  any  one  but  a 
Californian  "vaccaro." 

D* 


CHAPTEE  V. 


Spanish  Priests. — Indians. — Quilp  forgets  Himself. — Habits  of  Native 
Californians. — Father  Bartolemeo. — The  Lasso. — Good  Riders. — 
Cattle  branding. — Raymond  provides  Mules. — Russian  River. — 
We  Encamp. — Saw-mill. — I  propose  to  "  Squat." 

August,  1850. 

The  capabilities  of  Santa  Rosa  Valley  had  not  been 
overlooked  by  the  early  missionaries,  and  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Don  Raymond  had  been  built  by 
them.  The  object  of  these  priests  had  been,  first,  to 
encourage  the  wild  Indians  of  the  country  to  settle 
near  their  mission-houses,  and  then  gradually  to  do- 
mesticate them  and  employ  them  in  bringing  the  land 
under  cultivation ;  but  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
country,  their  efforts  seem  on  all  sides  to  have  been 
unattended  with  success,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
the  existence  here  and  there  of  a  few  bands  of  "  Man- 
zos,"  or  tame  Indians,  nothing  remains  in  evidence 
of  the  exertions  of  these  early  colonists.  In  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  country,  where  the  climate  is  better 
adapted  for  the  growth  of  fruit-trees  and  vines,  signs 
of  improvement  every  where  mark  the  presence  of  the 
land-loving  Jesuit.  The  missions  there  consist  of 
several  houses,  part  of  the  surrounding  country  is 
producing  grain ;  a  breed  of  small  sheep  has  been  in- 
troduced ;  and  the  Indians  having  been  made  avail- 
able for  agricultural  purposes,  large  quantities  of  vines 
are  reared,  from  which  an  excellent  wine,  to  which  I 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


83 


have  already  alluded,  is  produced.  For  this  more 
genial  clime  the  northern  valleys  had  been  abandoned, 
but  a  band  of  domesticated  Indians  remained  attached, 
like  cats,  to  the  mud  building,  where  first  they  made 
acquaintance  with  the  white  man.  The  Indians  of  the 
country  are  called  Diggers,  from  the  fact  of  their  sub- 
sisting on  roots  and  acorns.  Filthy  and  degraded  in 
their  habits,  not  one  ennobling  trait  is  to  be  found  in 
them ;  whether  domesticated,  or  in  a  primitive  state, 
they  are  ever  the  most  debased  of  tribes,  morally  and 
physically.  It  might  have  been  from  this  that  the 
process  of  civilizing  these  beings  was  abandoned  by 
the  priests,  for  so  thankless  a  task  might  damp  the 
energy  even  of  a  Jesuit. 

The  tribe  in  question  occupied  a  few  huts  not  far 
from  the  house,  and  Raymond  had,  with  a  spirit  a 
little  in  advance  of  his  fellow-colonists,  employed  these 
Indians  in  inclosing  a  few  acres  of  land,  which  were 
now  sown  with  barley  and  peas.  Every  week  a  bul- 
lock was  killed  for  the  Indians,  the  whole  of  which, 
including  entrails,  they  devoured  on  the  instant.  Of 
an  evening  they  made  a  great  disturbance  by  indulg- 
ing in  what  they  intended  for  a  dance ;  this  consisted 
in  crowding  together  in  uncouth  attitudes,  and  stamp- 
ing on  the  ground  to  the  accompaniment  of  primitive 
whistles,  of  which  each  man  had  one  in  his  mouth, 
while  the  women  howled  and  shrieked  in  chorus. 

Business  required  Raymond's  presence  at  Sacra- 
mento for  a  few  days,  and  from  that  time  Quilp's 
influence  worked  strongly  to  our  disadvantage.  We 
were  no  longer  summoned  to  the  early  breakfast  of 
fresh  milk  and  "tortillas,"  and  those  meals  that  were 


84 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


prepared  for  us  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  stewed 
beans.  We  reminded  the  ladies,  whom  now  we  sel- 
dom met,  that  we  had  deposited  game  in  the  kitchen 
but  the  day  before.  44  Possibly,"  they  replied,  44  the 
gatos  (cats)  had  destroyed  it."  The  idea  of  palming 
this  dreadful  story  on  an  Englishman  was  rather  too 
good.  We  were  now  therefore  often  compelled  to 
shift  for  ourselves,  and  although  it  was  no  great  trou- 
ble to  light  a  fire  while  out  shooting,  and  roast  a  hare 
or  wild  duck,  we  felt  our  position  to  be  very  awk- 
ward, having  promised  Raymond  not  to  depart  before 
his  return,  an  event  we  awaited  with  impatience.  Not 
far  from  the  house  lived  a  44  squatter"  of  the  name  of 
Elliot ;  he  had  been  settled  for  some  time  in  the  coun- 
try, and  had  planted  a  small  garden  of  vegetables  ;  we 
found  that  he  was  always  supplied  with  venison,  and 
on  this  discovery  we  soon  made  an  arrangement  with 
him  that  relieved  the  people  of  the  ranche  from  all 
trouble  respecting  our  meals.  When  we  returned  at 
night,  Quilp  would  be  found  as  usual  twanging  his 
guitar,  but  on  one  occasion,  emboldened  by  our  si- 
lent contempt,  which  he  mistook  perhaps  for  fear, 
he  ventured  on  a  liberty  which,  but  for  my  inter- 
ference, might  have  been  very  summarily  punished. 
Returned  one  evening  from  shooting,  my  dog,  Cro- 
mer, went  up  inquisitively  to  Quilp  as  he  sat  in  the 
porch,  and  this  gentleman,  perhaps  to  please  the  group 
of  vaccaros  who  shared  his  dislike  of  us,  undertook 
to  kick  the  animal  with  his  heavy  spurred  heel. 
Barnes's  powerful  grip  was  on  his  shoulder  in  an  in- 
stant, and  so  long  as  it  remained  there,  Quilp  was 
held  to  his  chair  as  if  in  a  vice.     I  ordered  Barnes  at 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


85 


once  to  desist,  and  once  released,  Quilp  drew  a  knife 
from  his  boot  and  swore,  "  Madre  de  Dios!"  that 
all  the  English  that  ever  lived  should  die  under  the 
application  of  that  piece  of  cutlery ;  but  as  his  eye 
wandered  down  the  barrel  of  the  rifle  that  Barnes 
now  brought  in  close  proximity  with  his  head,  he 
evidently  deferred  his  sanguinary  intentions  for  the 
time  being,  and  retired  pale  and  trembling  into  the 
house.  It  was  some  time  before  the  excitement  died 
away,  and  I  was  not  sorry  when  I  had  reduced  Barnes 
to  a  calm  state  of  mind,  for  he  was  by  no  means  the 
right  sort  of  person  to  "muddle,"  to  use  his  own  ex- 
pression. 

While  out  on  the  ensuing  day  we  came  across  a 
beautiful  little  animal  of  the  size  of  a  racoon,  striped 
black  and  white.  This  was  a  species  of  skunk,  that 
emitted  an  odor  so  overpowering,  that  the  animal's 
instinct  did  not  even  induce  it  to  attempt  to  run  from 
the  dogs,  who  flew  at  first  to  worry  it,  but  surren- 
dered at  once  to  the  poisonous  smell,  and  refused  to 
approach.  We  left  the  skunk  in  full  possession  of  the 
field,  and  returned  to  find  Quilp  and  a  newly-arrived 
party  of  Spaniards,  enjoying  themselves  in-doors, 
drinking  the  "wine  of  the  south"  and  cracking  jokes, 
probably  at  our  expense.  I  had  paid  little  attention 
to  the  fact  of  Barnes  having  lagged  behind  us  as  we 
came  home,  and  I  was  in  the  porch  awaiting  his  re- 
turn, when  he  suddenly  appeared  on  the  threshold  of 
the  door  from  which  the  merriment  proceeded,  and 
with  the  laconic  remark  of  "D — n  you,  take  that," 
before  I  was  aware  of  his  purpose  he  chucked  the 
skunk  into  the  middle  of  the  party  of  Spaniards,  where 


86         MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


it  alighted  amidst  the  screams  of  the  ladies  and  the 
oaths  of  the  men.  In  a  few  moments  the  room  was 
cleared,  and  the  men  soon  afterward,  amidst  many- 
vows  of  vengeance,  mounted  their  horses  and  rode 
swearing  away.  Quilp  went  with  them,  and  we  never 
saw  him  again. 

Raymond  returned  next  day,  and  having  explain- 
ed to  him  as  much  as  was  necessary  to  account  for 
the  estranged  terms  on  which  he  found  us  with  his 
family,  and  apologized  for  my  servant's  inexcusable 
rudeness,  I  insisted  upon  being  at  once  permitted  to 
terminate  my  visit ;  and  the  same  day  I  erected  my 
tent  on  the  plain. 

Raymond,  who  entertained  much  good  feeling  to- 
ward us,  felt  very  sore  to  find  on  inquiry  that  we 
had  been  inhospitably  treated  during  his  absence ; 
but  unable  to  persuade  me  to  remain  longer  as  his 
guest,  he  requested  that  we  would  wait  and  witness 
his  annual  ' 4 cattle-branding,"  then  about  to  take  place, 
and  he  would  then  procure  us  mules  to  pursue  our 
journey. 

No  life  is  so  thoroughly  lazy  as  that  of  a  Califor- 
nian  family,  who,  totally  uneducated,  can  neither  read 
or  write ;  and  while  there  are  no  domestic  duties  on 
which  to  employ  the  women,  the  men  leave  to  their 
vaccaros  the  little  superintendence  the  cattle  on  a 
ranche  require.  Nor,  as  far  as  the  women  are  con- 
cerned, does  the  care  of  their  children  seem  by  any 
means  to  engross  their  leisure  ;  for  the  rising  off-shoots 
are  allowed,  like  the  young  cattle,  to  grow  unassisted 
and  unembellished  to  maturity,  though  undoubtedly 
the  naked  little  urchins  benefit  physically  by  the  free- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


87 


dom  their  young  limbs  enjoy.  Raymond  had  but  one 
child,  of  about  four  years  of  age,  and  this  little  fellow, 
with  no  covering  but  a  scanty  shirt,  strutted  about 
the  yard  all  day,  practicing  with  a  miniature  lasso  at 
the  cocks  and  hens. 

The  Californian  idea  of  religion  is  rather  sketchy 
and  undefined.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Spanish 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  were  never  prone  to 
waste  much  time  in  expounding  the  tenets  of  their 
faith;  the  great  principle  was,  in  all  instances,  to  con- 
vert, and  to  increase  the  "  army  of  the  Faithful."  I 
remember  that  in  the  islands  of  Batan  in  the  China 
Sea,  the  process  was  excessively  simple.  So  soon  as 
a  nigger  was  caught — and  in  a  small  island  he  had 
not  much  chance  of  escape  from  a  Jesuit — a  tin  cross 
was  hung  round  his  neck,  and  he  was  turned  off  again, 
like  one  of  Raymond's  branded  steers,  one  being  as 
wise  as  the  other  as  to  whom  the  new  allegiance  was 
owing.  The  Californians  have,  however,  learnt  enough 
to  know  that  every  one  not  of  their  faith  is  a  heretic, 
and  the  Carrillo  family  asked  us  point-blank  if  we  be- 
longed to  that  unhappy  class,  and  received  gravely 
our  modest  reply,  that  we  believed  we  had  that  mis- 
fortune. The  Spaniards  and  their  priests  are  not  only 
inveterate  card-players,  but  practiced  cheats.  One  of 
these  sleight-of-hand  Padres,  I  was  told,  displayed 
great  fervor  in  attempting  to  convert  a  heretic  who 
lived  near  him,  and  who  happened  to  be  an  English 
master  of  a  merchant  vessel,  who  had  settled  in  the 
country.  As  the  story  goes,  the  old  Salt  defended 
himself  from  the  theological  attacks  of  Father  Bar- 
tolemeo  on  the  score  that  he  never  could  understand 


88 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


the  principal  articles  of  his  new  creed.  "  How  so?" 
exclaims  the  Padre  ;  "  with  faith,  and  the  help  of  the 
Virgin,  all  obstacles  will  melt  like  snow  before  the 
sun."  "  Then,"  observed  the  captain,  as  he  produced 
a  pack  of  Spanish  monte  cards,  "  how  do  you  turn  up 
the  Jack  when  the  seven  and  Jack  are  laid  out,  and 
an  open  bet  is  made  on  the  seven?"  "  Toe-nails  of 
St.  Ignatius !  what  has  this  to  do  with  the  tenets  of 
the  true  faith?"  roars  the  father.  "This,"  says  the 
other,  in  reply,  "is  the  first  tenet  of  your  faith; 
teach  me  this  and  I  embrace  the  rest."  It  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  wrath  and  indignation  of  the  holy  father 
when  he  thus  heard  his  religion  insulted ;  and,  sym- 
pathizing with  him  in  his  warmth,  we  are  the  less 
prepared  to  hear  that  he  not  only  controlled  his  feel- 
ings, but  sat  down  and  inducted  the  master  into  the 
art  of  turning  up  the  Jack,  too  happy  at  so  small  a 
sacrifice  to  gain  another  convert  to  his  faith. 

Where  so  much  ignorance  exists,  a  proportionate 
amount  of  superstition  will  of  course  be  found  ;  and  in 
horse-racing,  which  is  their  passion,  the  Californians 
are  regulated  by  a  code  of  rules  affecting  the  colors  of 
horses,  and  the  hours  at  which  they  must  start  to  in- 
sure victory.  Sailors  used  to  dislike  a  Friday ;  but 
there  is  no  day  of  the  week  that  is  not  unlucky  for 
something  in  California. 

At  Santa  Cruz  (in  the  south),  some  time  ago,  the 
« Virgin"  was  entreated  for  rain,  and  the  hat  being- 
sent  round,  a  sufficient  amount  was  collected  to  back 
the  request  in  the  substantial  manner  that  the  priests 
point  out  as  being  acceptable.  An  old  heretical  Amer- 
ican settler,  who  had  a  farm  on  the  high  land  above 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  89 

the  valley,  declined  either  to  contribute  or  to  pray ; 
but,  from  his  elevated  position,  his  crops  soon  throve 
under  genial  showers,  while  the  valley  below  as  yet 
received  no  relief.  This  unequal  distribution  of  favor 
on  the  part  of  the  saint  astonished  the  occupants  of 
the  valley:  and  we  will  presume  that  fresh  appeals 
brought  down  retribution  on  the  heretic  ;  for,  in  a  very 
short  time,  his  crops  were  set  on  fire,  and  he  saved  bis 
house  from  destruction  with  some  difficulty. 

The  dress  of  the  vaccaro  consists  of  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  always  secured  under  the  chin,  a  loose 
shirt  and  jacket,  and  buckskin  breeches  ;  round  the 
leg  is  wound  a  square  piece  of  leather  ;  this  is  secured 
at  the  knee,  and  is  a  protection  against  falls  or  the 
attacks  of  cattle :  in  one  of  these  leggings  he  carries 
his  knife  ;  his  spurs,  serapa,  and  lasso  complete  his 
costume.  Under  his  saddle  he  has  a  blanket ;  and 
thus  lightly  equipped  is  independent  of  every  thing. 
The  lasso  is  generally  constructed  of  twisted  hide, 
and  is  made  with  great  care.  In  the  hands  of  a 
good  vaccaro  the  noose  is  thrown  carelessly,  but  with 
unerring  precision :  it  is  a  formidable  weapon  of  at- 
tack ;  and  in  the  guerrilla  warfare,  which  preceded  the 
occupation  of  the  country,  it  was  not  only  used  suc- 
cessfully, but  horrible  cruelties  were  practiced  by  the 
Spaniards  on  those  whom  by  chance  they  cut  off  in 
this  manner. 

The  Californians  are  perfect  riders — graceful,  active, 
and  courageous ;  they  ride  with  a  straight  leg  when 
in  the  saddle ;  and  this  latter,  when  properly  made, 
gives  great  support  to  the  body  and  legs  :  how,  other- 
wise, could  they  endure,  for  hours  together,  the  shock 


90 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  bringing  up  all  standing  wild  cattle  running  at  full 
speed  ? 

When  I  first  seated  myself  in  a  Californian  saddle 
belonging  to  Raymond,  and  found  the  lower  part  of 
my  body  deeply  imbedded  in  the  soft  skins  which 
covered  it,  I  was  led  into  an  error  which,  I  dare  say, 
has  been  shared  by  many  others.  I  thought  at  the 
time  that  riders  accustomed  to  so  much  assistance 
were  less  dependent  on  the  muscles  of  the  body ;  and 
I  have  no  doubt  in  those  valuable  papers,  since  lost, 
I  recorded  a  hasty  opinion  that  their  crack  riders 
would  make  a  poor  show  on  an  English  saddle  over  a 
steeple-chase  country  ;  but  this  is  only  another  proof 
of  the  danger  of  trusting  to  first  impressions.  The 
Californian  will  ride  a  bare-backed  horse  at  speed  and 
bring  him  on  his  haunches  with  a  seat  undisturbed ; 
but  what  more  particularly  arrests  the  critical  eye  of 
an  Englishman,  is  their  beautiful  handling  of  the 
horse's  mouth :  with  a  bit,  the  slightest  pressure  on 
which  arrests  the  horse,  they  ride,  in  all  the  excite- 
ment of  the  cattle-chase,  with  a  lightness  of  hand  that 
is  truly  admirable.  In  the  hunting  counties,  where 
by  chance  some  black-coated  stranger  takes  and  keeps 
a  forward  position  throughout  the  day,  it  is  a  matter 
of  duty  after  dinner  for  all  legitimate  red-coats  to 
depreciate  the  arrogant  unknown ;  but  when  no  fault 
can  be  found  either  with  his  seat  or  his  style  of  riding, 
there  is  always  some  one  who  clinches  the  matter  by 
remarking  sagely,  i  i  The  fellow  rides  well  enough,  but 
he  has  got  no  'hands!'"  jSTow  the  Californians  have 
both  seats  and  "hands,"  and  may  defy  the  criticism 
even  of  the  ill-natured. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


91 


Once  a  year  it  was  customary  to  drive  up  all  the 
cattle  on  a  ranche  to  brand  the  young  steers.  On 
these  occasions  the  vaccaros  are  in  their  glory,  crack 
riders  volunteer  their  assistance,  and  ranche  owners 
congregate  from  far  and  wide  to  point  out  and  take 
away  such  of  their  own  beasts  as  have  strayed  and 
become  mixed  with  those  on  the  ranche.  For  a  week 
previously,  the  vaccaros  scour  the  mountains  and 
plains,  and  collect  the  wild  herds,  and  these  are  at 
once  inclosed  in  the  "corrals." 

The  proprietor  of  the  ranche  keeps  open  house, 
while  the  vaccaros  adorn  themselves  in  all  the  finery 
they  can  muster,  which  is  not  much,  and  they  are 
specially  mounted  for  the  occasion.  Fires  are  lighted 
near  the  corral,  and  in  these  the  branding-irons  are 
kept  heated.  The  work  is  commenced  leisurely,  a 
few  vaccaros  enter  the  corral,  the  gate  of  which  is 
formed  of  a  bar  of  wood,  easily  withdrawn,  to  allow 
egress  to  the  cattle.  The  first  lasso  is  thrown  over 
the  horns  of  a  steer,  and  as  the  bar  is  withdrawn  he 
rushes  out  with  the  vaccaro  at  his  side;  on  the  in- 
stant a  second  lasso  catches  the  hind  leg  and  he  falls 
on  his  side,  as  if  shot.  The  two  lassos  are  then  kept 
tight  by  the  horses  to  which  they  are  attached,  who 
are  admirably  trained  to  throw  their  whole  weight  on 
the  rope  ;  the  brand  is  then  applied.  A  shake  of  the 
lasso  disengages  it,  and  the  steer,  after  a  wild  look  at 
the  assembled  company,  rushes  smarting  with  pain 
to  the  mountains,  where  he  is  soon  joined  by  his 
fellows  in  a  similar  unfortunate  predicament. 

The  corral  becomes  gradually  thinned,  and  more 
vaccaros  enter  the  lists,  and  as  the  large  beasts  are 


92 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


kept  until  the  last,  and  become  maddened  by  being- 
driven  round  in  the  heat,  and  noise,  and  dust,  every 
opportunity  is  afforded  for  a  display  of  good  riding. 
Savage-looking  cows  show  fight  from  every  quarter, 
and  make  fierce  charges  at  the  horsemen,  who  experi- 
ence much  more  danger,  and  have  more  work  to  do, 
than  the  armed  "torredores"  of  a  bull-fight.  The 
dust  and  excitement  increase  rapidly  now,  and  the 
cattle  thump  the  ground  with  their  ribs  on  every  side, 
as  their  legs  fly  from  under  them.  A  groan,  a  hiss, 
and  a  smell  of  roast  meat,  as  the  hot  brand  touches 
them,  and  away  they  go,  tail  on  end. 

But  occasionally  the  scene  is  diversified  by  some 
cantankerous  young  bull,  who  having  received  the 
impression  of  his  master's  initials,  makes  a  rush  at 
the  crowd  that  surround  the  corral,  with  the  intention 
of  revenging  an  insult  never  intended.  This  way- 
ward conduct  subjects  him  to  increased  punishment, 
for  he  is  now  brought  down  on  his  side  again,  until  at 
last  he  thinks  better  of  it,  and  makes  the  best  of  his 
way  to  some  lonely  spot  on  the  plain,  where  he  re- 
venges himself  by  praiseworthy  but  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts to  gore  the  largest  oak-tree  he  can  find. 

The  work  is  now  carried  on  with  great  rapidity,  the 
vaccaros  have  renewed  their  horses  many  times,  and 
under  the  influence  of  brandy,  which  is  freely  served 
to  them,  they  begin  to  get  as  mad  as  the  cattle.  All 
ends  at  dusk,  and  the  evening  is  devoted  to  a  "fan- 
dango;" but  the  men  are  all  so  drunk  and  tired,  that 
this  amusement  always  terminates  early,  and  general- 
ly seriously ;  for  among  so  many  boasting  and  quar- 
relsome riders,  knives  are  soon  produced,  and  the  dis- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


93 


pute,  which  always  has  reference  to  the  capacity  of 
some  horse,  is  terminated  for  the  time  being  by  the 
letting  of  a  little  blood. 

It  is  the  nature  of  man  to  boast  of  his  horse  in  all 
countries,  and  how  unfortunate  it  is  that  these  Span- 
iards are  not  sufficiently  civilized  to  settle  their  dis- 
putes with  a  bet ;  then  the  only  blood  drawn  would 
be  from  the  horse's  flanks,  when  he  was  called  upon 
by  his  master  to  perform  the  feat  in  question,  and  the 
whole  would  be  decided  in  a  gentlemanly  manner ! 

Shortly  after  the  "  cattle-branding,"'  Raymond  pro- 
vided me  with  four  handsome  mules  and  a  horse.  I 
have  already  mentioned  that  the  management  of  wild 
mules  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty ;  to  us  it  was 
an  impossibility,  and  we  found  it  requisite  to  hire 
the  services  of  a  vaccaro.  We  started  for  Russian 
River  after  bidding  adieu  to  Raymond,  who  had 
behaved  to  us  throughout  with  great  hospitality  and 
kindness.  Our  road  led  through  another  plain,  oak- 
timbered  like  the  valleys,  and  that  there  may  be  at 
least  one  good  remark  in  my  book,  I  shall  borrow  a 
description  from  Sterne,  who  says,  "  There  is  no- 
thing more  pleasing  to  a  traveler  or  more  terrible  to 
travel-writers,  than  a  large  rich  plain,  especially  if 
it  is  without  great  rivers  or  bridges,  and  presents 
to  the  eye  but  one  unvaried  picture  of  plenty ;  for, 
after  they  have  once  told  you  that  it  is  delicious  or 
delightful  (as  the  case  happens),  that  the  soil  was 
grateful,  and  that  Nature  pours  out  all  her  abundance, 
etc.,  they  have  then  a  large  plain  upon  their  hands, 
which  they  know  not.  what  to  do  with." — Tristram 
Shandy,  vol.  ii.  p.  123.     The  reader  will  then  please 


94 


MOUNTAINS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


to  consider  that  my  party  lias  reached  in  safety  the 
banks  of  the  Russian  River. 

This  is  a  broad  stream,  and  in  the  summer  months 
when  the  water  becomes  low,  it  runs  sluggishly ;  but 
high  among  the  branches  of  the  alder-trees  that  line 
the  banks,  are  accumulations  of  sticks  and  rubbish 
that  mark  the  height  to  which  the  river  rises  when  the 
mountain  snow  begins  to  melt,  and  it  changes  its  pre- 
sent lazy  rippling  pace  for  the  turbulent  roar  of  a  cata- 
ract, and  overflows  the  adjacent  plains. 

Being  nightfall,  we  encamped  without  crossing,  and 
at  daylight  we  were  dismayed  at  discovering  that  our 
beasts  had  been  stolen ;  we  had  no  reason  to  sus- 
pect the  vaccaro,  who  at  all  events  acted  surprise  to 
perfection,  if  guilty  of  connivance  ;  but  mules  and 
horses  were  gone,  and  the  riattas  witli  them.  Some 
expert  thieves  had  tracked  us,  and  as  we  were  in 
ignorance  as  to  who  they  were,  we  laid  the  whole 
matter  at  Quilp's  door.  I  have  since  discovered  by 
experience,  that  if  a  band  of  Mexicans  are  determined 
to  have  your  horses,  they  generally  manage  it  by  some 
means,  in  spite  of  the  utmost  vigilance ;  with  our  in- 
experience and  the  possible  connivance  of  the  vaccaro 
(of  which,  however,  there  was  not  a  shadow  of  proof) 
the  task  was  easy.  I  discharged  the  vaccaro,  and  we 
crossed  the  river  on  foot,  taking  off  our  clothes  and 
carrving  them  in  a  bundle  on  our  heads.  The  water 
was  so  refreshing,  that  the  task  of  taking  over  our 
baggage  piecemeal  was  one  of  pleasure,  and  helped 
wonderfully  to  counterbalance  the  annoyance  I  felt  at 
the  loss  of  my  mules — a  loss  which  entirely  precluded 
my  further  advance  into  the  country.   Leaving  Barnes 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


95 


with  the  baggage  and  dogs,  Thomas  and  I  proceeded 
in  search  of  a  backwoodsman's  hut,  which  we  had  been 
informed  existed  in  this  direction  ;  after  following  the 
river  for  some  time,  we  ascended  a  steep  hill,  from 
the  summit  of  which  was  presented  the  most  lovely 
panorama — beneath  us  the  thickly-wooded  plain  ex- 
tended for  miles  —  on  one  side  bounded  by  mount- 
ains, on  the  other,  melting  away  in  a  blue  hazy 
distance  ;  the  windings  of  the  Russian  River  were 
marked  distinctly  in  contrast  with  the  dark  rocks 
and  foliage  that  lined  its  banks,  while  immediately  be- 
neath us  was  a  forest  of  firs  and  redwood  trees,  over 
which  the  vultures  wheeled  incessantly,  and  not  even 
the  sound  of  an  insect  disturbed  the  silence  of  the 
scene. 

From  this  hill  we  discovered  the  hut  of  which  Ave 
were  in  search,  situated  near  a  running  stream  and 
surrounded  by  towering  redwood  trees.  "We  found 
the  occupant  at  home ;  he  was  a  tall  sinewy  man,  a 
Missourian  of  the  name  of  March,  and  he  at  once 
cheerfully  assisted  us.  He  lent  us  his  mule  to  bring 
up  our  baggage,  and  by  nightfall  we  were  encamped 
within  a  few  yards  of  his  hut.  There  were  two  other 
backwoodsmen  living  with  March,  and  these  three 
had  just  completed  unaided  a  saw-mill,  to  which  they 
had  applied  the  power  of  the  stream,  by  means  of 
an  over-shot  wheel.  The  heavy  beams  that  formed 
the  mill-frame,  the  dam  and  race,  had  all  been  con- 
structed from  the  adjacent  forest  trees,  and  now  that 
the  work  wTas  completed,  wanting  only  the  saw,  for 
which  they  intended  to  go  to  San  Francisco,  it  seemed 
incredible  that  so  large  a  frame  could  be  put  together 


96 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


CAMPING  OUT. 


by  so  small  a  number  of  men.  This  saw-mill  erected 
in  the  forest  and  of  the  forest,  raising  its  long  beams 
from  the  midst  of  the  romantic  scenery  that  surround- 
ed it,  was  a  glorious  instance  of  what  energy  will  ac- 
complish, and  of  the  rapidity  with  which  each  man  in 
an  American  colony  contributes  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  the  new  country's  resources. 

And  it  contrasts  strangely  with  the  languid  inert- 
ness of  those  communities,  who  with  equal  brains 
and  hands  ponder  and  dream  over  the  means  of  sup- 
plying wants,  even  when  they  have  long  been  felt ; 
to  see  that  here  even  the  uneducated  backwoodsman 
devotes  his  time  and  energy  to  preparing  for  the 
wants  to  come;  buoyed  up  by  an  admirable  conn- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  97 

dence  in  the  rapid  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  coun- 
try, which  confidence  is  part  of  his  education,  and 
one  great  secret  of  his  success.  If  the  Americans  go 
a-head,  it  is  principally  because  they  "look  a-head." 
March  when  he  planned  his  mill  and  felled  his  first 
tree  in  this  solitary  forest,  ranked  with  those  who 
wrote  from  the  tents  of  San  Francisco  for  steam- 
engines  and  foundries.  Now  as  I  write,  these  latter 
are  performing  their  daily  work  in  the  city,  and  have 
become  essential  to  its  wants,  while  March's  mill, 
seemingly  so  out  of  place  where  I  first  saw  it,  can 
now  barely  supply  the  wants  of  the  numerous  agri- 
cultural population  that  is  settling  round  about  it. 
March  and  his  companions  lived  entirely  on  game, 
which  he  assured  me  abounded ;  and  as  for  the  pres- 
ent at  all  events  I  could  not  proceed,  I  determined  at 
his  advice  to  walk  over  the  hills  and  look  at  a  valley 
on  which  he  strongly  recommended  me  to  "squat;" 
we  therefore  started  the  next  morning  in  search  of  it, 
following  the  directions  that  March  had  given  us  for 
our  guidance  to  the  spot. 

E 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Little  Valley. — Three  Martyrs. — Mountain  Life. — The  poor 
Does. — Castor-oil. — A  sick  Dog. — The  Carpentaro. — Gray  Squir- 
rel.— Digger  Indians — Redwood  Tree. — American  Rifles. — Griz- 
zly Bear  Hunt. — Sheldon  wounded. — Difficulty  in  killing  the  Bear. 
—Habits  of  the  Bear. — A  Thief. 

September,  1850, 

The  country  which  we  now  traversed  consisted  of 
a  series  of  small  round-topped  hills,  uniform  in  size 
but  varying  in  feature.  The  whole  had  been  long 
since  subjected  to  violent  volcanic  action,  so  while  one 
hill  was  crowned  with  a  grotesque  mass  of  rock  and 
cinder,  round  which  the  tall  wild  oats  waved  desolate- 
ly, the  next  enchanted  the  eye  with  a  profusion  of 
evergreen  oaks  and  flowering  arbutus.  These  hills 
altered  in  character  as  they  had  been  subjected  to,  or 
had  escaped  from  the  volcanic  shower ;  thus  while  on 
one  side  was  a  huge  mound  of  lava  destitute  of  all 
vegetation,  on  the  other  was  a  dense  mass  of  rich 
underwood,  from  which  rose  groups  of  the  stately  red- 
wood tree. 

We  saw  several  old  craters,  and  the  cindery  deso- 
lation that  encircled  them  for  some  distance  yielded 
suddenly  to  the  encroachment  of  vegetation ;  a  strife  ■ 
for  mastery  between  these  two  had  existed,  and  you 
may  believe,  if  you  please,  as  I  do,  the  volcanic 
agency  to  have  been  under  the  management  of  an 
evil  gnome,  the  wild  vines  and  arbutus  to  have  been 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  99 


protected  by  a  good  fay,  and  that  after  numerous 
fierce  engagements,  a  lasting  peace  had  been  con- 
cluded and  the  territory  equally  divided. 

We  put  up  several  hares  and  covies  of  partridges, 
whose  parents  had  never  been  shot  at,  and  we  fully 
satisfied  ourselves  as  to  the  existence  in  abundance  of 
both  bears  and  deer. 

Arrived  at  the  summit  of  a  hill,  the  little  valley  we 
were  in  search  of  lay  at  our  feet.  It  was  scarcely 
twenty  acres  in  extent,  level  as  a  table,  bounded  on 
one  side  by  masses  of  redwood  trees,  and  on  the 
other  by  a  fine  stream,  whose  banks  were  shaded  with 
alders  and  wild  vines.  The  valley  itself  was  free 
from  shrub  or  tree,  excepting  that  from  the  centre 
there  rose  a  clump  of  seven  gigantic  redwoods,  which 
growing  in  a  circle,  and  meeting  at  the  roots,  formed 
a  natural  chamber  to  which  there  was  but  one  inlet. 

As  the  land  we  were  on  belonged  to  the  United 
States  government,  I  determined  to  take  March's  ad- 
vice, and  squat  on  this  valley,  for  I  became  at  once 
enchanted  with  it,  as  indeed  were  my  companions :  I 
therefore  affixed  to  the  redwood  trees  a  paper  I  had 
long  prepared  and  kept  in  my  knapsack  for  immediate 
use,  and  which  ordered  all  men  to  take  notice  that 
F.  M.  claimed,  under  the  laws  of  pre-emption,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  of  land  measuring  from  that  spot, 
and  that  he  intended  to  defend  his  right  by  force  of 
arms,  etc.  etc. 

Considering  that,  saving  the  wild  Indians,  human 
foot  had  probably  never  crossed  the  spot,  the  notice 
scarcely  seemed  necessary,  and  the  Indians  did  not 
respect  it,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  show  hereafter. 


100       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


By  the  time  we  had  walked  thoroughly  over  the 
property  and  discovered  fresh  advantages,  and  had 
drunk  of  the  stream  and  found  the  water  excellent,  it 
was  dusk,  and  not  being  sufficiently  satisfied  with 
our  landmarks,  to  try  our  way  back  to  our  camp  that 
night,  we  determined  on  passing  it  in  the  redwood 
clump ;  the  fire  was  soon  stacked  and  lighted — that 
jolly  camp-fire  that  on  the  instant  suffuses  every 
thing  around  it  with  its  cheerful  ruddy  glow,  and 
sends  its  sharp  crackle  merrily  up  through  the  air, 
throwing  a  charm  over  the  most  inhospitable  desert, 
and  giving  a  zest  to  the  hunter's  meal,  be  it  ever  so 
homely.  How  naturally  as  we  sit  around  it  we  recall 
the  memory  of  wet  seasons,  when  benighted,  damp, 
chilly,  and  tired,  we  selected,  amidst  the  falling  mist, 
the  driest  and  most  sheltered  spot  in  the  wet  brush- 
wood; how  we  laugh  now  at  the  vain  attempt  to 
kindle  damp  leaves  and  undergrowth;  the  partial 
success  that  engendered  hope,  only  to  render  the  fail- 
ure of  the  last  match  more  intolerable ;  the  dark  long 
night,  dreary,  drizzling,  with  one  of  us  on  guard  for 
danger,  and  all  unable  to  sleep,  watching  impatiently 
for  the  morning,  with  the  first  dull  streak  of  which  we 
stretch  our  half-stiffened  limbs,  and  shouldering  the 
dead  game,  that  no  camp-fire  over  night  converted 
into  a  well-earned  and  needful  supper,  seek  some 
sheltered  spot  elsewhere,  and  make  a  breakfast  of  it. 
The  recollection  of  nights  like  these — and  they  fall  to 
the  lot  of  every  hunter — causes  one  to  contemplate 
the  blazing  embers  with  a  simple  gratitude,  that  is 
not  always  engendered  elsewhere  by  the  possession 
of  the  comforts  of  this  world. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  101 


THE  THREE  MARTYRS. 

We  had  a  leash  of  hares,  which  being  skinned  and 
cleaned,  were  impaled  on  withers  and  placed  at  the 
fire  to  roast,  where  they  looked  like  three  martyrs 
flayed  alive,  and  staked.  While  they  were  cooking 
we  filled  the  redwood  clump  with  several  armfuls  of 
long  oat-straw  from  the  adjacent  hill. 

After  worrying  the  three  hares,  we  lighted  our 
pipes,  and  picketing  the  dogs  round  us,  we  gave 
ourselves  up  to  the  pleasures  of  a  comparison  of  the 
happiness  of  our  position  as  compared  with  that  of 
other  men,  and  then  I  sunk  into  a  gentle  slumber  (of 
course),  while  my  companions  snored  in  unison  with 
the  dogs. 

We  rose  with  the  sun;  and,  properly  speaking,  I 
should  take  advantage  of  that  fact  to  inform  the 
reader  what  part  of  the  surrounding  scenery  was  first 


102       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


bathed  in  yellow  light,  and  what  remained  in  obscur- 
ity ;  what  the  deep  blue  of  the  distant  mountains  con- 
trasted with,  and  what  completed  the  picture  in  the 
foreground:  but  these  things  are  to  be  found  better 
described  in  any  book  of  travels  of  the  day ;  and, 
moreover,  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  I  was 
not  gazing  at  the  landscape,  but  was  proceeding  rather 
unpoetically  to  bathe  in  the  river,  munching  on  my 
way  the  leg  of  a  cold  martyr. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  we  moved  our  baggage  from 
March's  Mill  to  our  new  possession,  where  I  determ- 
ined on  passing  the  winter. 

I  decided  upon  inclosing  the  valley  and  rendering 
it  fit  for  agricultural  purposes,  but  as  the  winter  was 
approaching,  I  saw  that  the  first  thing  requisite  was 


THK  SHOOTING  BOX. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


103 


to  send  for  a  quantity  of  useful  articles  that  I  had 
stored  in  readiness  at  Sonoma,  and  which  consisted 
of  carpenters  tools,  blankets,  powder  and  shot,  books, 
^and  a  small  quantity  of  groceries.  For  these  I  dis- 
patched Thomas,  and  the  redwood  clump  having  been 
perfected  in  its  internal  accommodations,  by  the  addi- 
tion of  a  boarded  floor,  a  brushwood  roof,  with  a  con- 
venient rack  for  the  rifles,  and  a  secure  magazine  for 
the  powder,  Barnes  commenced  laying  his  ax  to  the 
redwood  trees  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream,  while 
I  shouldered  my  rifle  and  supplied  the  larder. 

There  is  but  one  species  of  deer  here — the  black- 
tailed — and  the  venison,  though  generally  fat,  is  in- 
sipid, owing,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  the  dry  season 
parches  up  every  blade  of  green  stuff,  and  the  deer 
live  on  the  long  self-made  hay,  which  in  some  parts 
is  very  plentiful,  but  not  nutritious.  The  deer  are 
generally  found  in  herds  of  from  five  to  seven,  and  it 
requires  great  caution  to  "bag  them." 

As  the  wind  at  this  season  of  the  year  blows  with 
little  variation  from  the  same  point,  my  ground  was 
almost  always  of  the  same  nature,  the  river  being  in 
my  rear,  and  the  mountains  before  me.  Stalking  was 
out  of  the  question,  for  from  the  peculiar  formation 
of  the  country,  which  consisted  of  a  series  of  undu- 
lations, no  extended  view  could  be  procured  of  a 
herd,  and  the  long  grass  which  afforded  them  cover 
abounded  with  rattlesnakes.  The  only  plan  in  such 
a  country  is  to  keep  your  eyes  about  you,  not  for- 
getting the  ground,  and  walk  the  deer  up,  against 
the  wind  of  course,  taking  advantage  of  any  cover  that 
may  be  in  your  path,  in  the  shape  of  a  rock,  and 


104      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


using  great  caution  in  showing  yourself  over  the  ris- 
ing ground.  The  herd  will  probably  then  start  up 
with  a  bound  from  the  long  oat-straw  at  your  feet,  but 
seldom  afford  a  fine  shot,  as  they  plunge  away  half 
concealed  by  it ;  now  you  throw  yourself  down,  and 
see !  the  herd  has  stopped  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
you ;  and  here  a  buck  advances  chivalrously  in  defense 
of  his  harem — five  paces — ten — now  he  is  troubled  ; 
for  although  there  is  pride  in  his  nostrils,  and  anger 
in  his  stamping  hoof,  there  is  indecision  in  those  work- 
ing ears,  and  by  his  eye  you  may  read  that  if  any 
thing  very  ugly  appears,  he  will  run  away.  But  a 
doe  advances ;  this  nerves  her  lord  to  a  few  paces 
more — now  you  may  fire — full  at  the  shoulder — crash 
— poor  buck !  Now  load  again,  and  then  rush  up  and 
cut  his  throat,  he  is  stone  dead ;  rattle,  tattle,  tattle, 
tattle — mind  the  snake !  Now  flay  him,  if  you  want 
the  skin,  or  quarter  him  if  you  don't:  this  done  you 
can  carry  home  a  haunch,  the  skin,  the  antlers,  the 
tongue  and  the  brains,  and  these,  with  your  accoutre- 
ments and  the  hot  sun,  will  probably  tire  you  before 
you  get  home.  In  the  evening  the  poor  does,  with 
their  soft  hearts  still  palpitating  from  the  nasty  noise 
your  rifle  made,  and  the  very  ugly  appearance  of  your- 
self generally,  will  stand  in  a  group,  and  turn  their 
wistful  eyes  in  the  direction  where  last  they  saw  their 
master,  and  wonder — poor  innocents  ! — why  he  is  not 
there  as  usual  to  lead  them  proudly  down  to  the 
stream,  and  take  his  station  on  the  bank  to  ward  off 
any  danger  while  they  drink.  Night  comes,  but  he 
does  not  appear ;  then  they  wander  about,  and  cry 
and  pass  a  miserable  night,  while  you  are  making  a 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


105 


good  supper  off  the  buck,  and  are  speaking  jocularly 
of  him  as  a  "fat  old  rascal." 

The  deer  is  very  inquisitive,  and  if  when  you  have 
walked  up  a  herd,  and  have  thrown  yourself  down, 
in  the  long  grass,  you  extend  your  loading  rod  above 
your  head,  with  a  piece  of  rag  attached  to  it,  the 
bucks  will,  even  though  they  wind  you,  generally  ap- 
proach within  killing  distance,  which,  when  shooting 
as  I  was,  for  subsistence,  should  not  be  more  than 
seventy  yards  if  possible.  It  is  always  better  to  make 
this  rule  when  shooting  for  the  "larder."  Where 
game  is  thin,  fire  at  nothing  that  you  don't  think 
certain,  until  the  day  wanes,  and  necessity  and  an 
empty  stomach  oblige  you  to  shoot  at  every  thing 
you  see.  Where  game  is  wild  and  difficult  to  ap- 
proach, and  you  are  living  on  your  gun,  too  much 
precaution  can  not  be  taken  to  insure,  if  possible, 
the  bagging  of  every  thing  you  hit ;  for  if  any  thing 
makes  sporting  cruel,  it  is  the  habit  that  some  have 
of  trying  long  shots,  and  sending  poor  brutes  away  to 
die  a  lingering  death  in  the  brush.  Moreover,  I  was 
much  in  the  position  of  a  man  with  a  preserve,  and 
that  not  overstocked.  I  could  not  afford  to  drive  my 
game,  by  careless  shooting,  out  of  my  own  beat,  and 
the  nature  of  my  country  was  such  that  the  want  of 
cover  in  the  undulating  hills  rendered  the  deer  very 
alert  while  feeding  there,  and  when  they  took  to  the 
mountains  in  alarm  they  were  lost  to  the  hunter,  if 
alone,  so  far  as  this,  that  they  invariably  managed  to 
keep  a  large-sized  hill  between  him  and  themselves; 
for  the  Russian  Hiver  deer  are  actually  cunning,  and 
never  did  I  see  one  take  to  a  ravine,  or  lay  himself 

E* 


106      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


open  in  any  way  when  once  he  ascended  the  steep. 
I  have  often  killed  before  I  have  left  the  house  twenty 
minutes,  but  far  more  frequently  have  walked  the 
whole  day  without  seeing  a  deer. 

We  recovered  some  wounded  deer  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  blood-hound,  Prince;  but  just  as  he  be- 
came useful,  he  was  attacked  by  a  distemper  peculiar 
to  the  country,  which  affects  the  hind-quarters  with 
paralysis,  and  generally  kills.  I  think  I  saved  Prince's 
life  by  administering  a  tremendous  dose  of  castor-oil 
on  the  first  appearance  of  his  symptoms,  but  he  was  a 
very  sick  dog  for  a  long  time,  and  staggered  like  a 
three  days'  old  calf.  Having  mentioned  castor-oil,  I 
wish  to  do  justice  to  its  invaluable  qualities,  which 
would  not  perhaps  have  been  so  thoroughly  tested  by 
us  were  it  not  that  our  sole  stock  of  medicine  consisted 
of  two  quart  bottles  of  it.  It  was  successfully  applied 
to  both  man  and  beast  in  every  complaint,  and  acted, 
with  a  little  tobacco-leaf,  as  a  balm  for  all  outward 
wounds. 

Barnes,  who  was  a  famous  ax-man  and  was  pos- 
sessed of  unusual  physical  strength  and  endurance, 
soon  felled  a  large  number  of  the  giant  redwoods  in 
the  rear  of  our  valley,  in  order  to  split  them  and  con- 
vert them  into  rails  for  inclosing  the  farm.  If  we 
should  speak  well  of  the  bridge  that  carries  us  over, 
we  should  also  speak  well  of  the  tree  that  roofs  us  in 
for  the  winter,  but  the  redwood  tree  (Arbor  Vitas) 
deserves  especial  notice  on  its  own  merits,  which  I 
shall  proceed  to  detail,  The  size  and  height  attained 
by  the  redwood  in  California  are  very  wonderful,  and 
faithful  accounts  of  these  trees  have  been  received  with 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  107 


incredulity.  The  average  size  of  the  full-grown  trees 
may  be  quoted  at  from  five  to  six  feet  in  diameter, 
and  about  150  feet  in  height.  This  tree  maintains  in 
some  instances  so  perfect  a  perpendicular,  that  in  fell- 
ing it  on  a  calm  day,  if  one  is  cut  toward  the  centre,  a 
very  small  portion  of  the  heart  will  sustain  the  im- 
mense trunk.  The  largest  tree  we  discovered  at  Rus- 
sian River  was  not  far  from  the  house.  Measuring  it 
six  feet  above  the  ground,  its  circumference  was  40 
feet,  and  its  height  about  200  feet.  But  in  Calaveras 
county,  a  group  of  trees  exists  which  measure  respect- 
ively, 27  feet,  20  feet,  23  feet,  18  feet,  and  16  feet 
in  diameter,  and  from  200  feet  to  250  feet  in  height. 
The  largest  of  these  was  felled  and  the  bark  removed 
to  San  Francisco,  where  it  was  erected  in  its  original 
position,  and  formed  a  capacious  room. 

The  timber  of  the  redwood  is  very  durable,  and  is 
so  easily  worked  that  a  man  needs  but  an  ax,  a  betel, 
and  a  few  wedges,  to  convert  the  largest  of  them, 
provided  they  are  free  from  knots,  into  planks,  rails, 
or  clap-boards,  and  I  have  seen  Barnes  fell  a  huge 
fellow,  and  in  less  than  a  fortnight  he  has  carried  it 
all  away  but  the  boughs  and  the  bark.  It  is  a  fine 
sight  to  watch  one  of  these  trees  fall  to  the  ax ;  leav- 
ing the  perpendicular  at  first  so  leisurely  ;  then  gath- 
ering impetus  as  it  nears  the  ground,  crushing  all  it 
meets,  making  the  earth  vibrate  with  its  shock,  and 
sending  forth  a  booming  echo,  that  startles  the  game 
far  and  wide.  The  bark  of  the  redwood  is  perforated 
in  every  direction,  and  with  great  regularity,  by  a 
kind  of  starling,  called,  from  this  peculiarity,  car- 
pentaro,  or  carpenter.    These  birds  form  cells  in  the 


108      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


tree  with  great  assiduity,  and  deposit  therein  acorns, 
which  fit  very  tightly.  They  are  very  quaint  and 
noisy,  and  employ  themselves  continually,  when  not 
fighting,  in  depositing  acorns  in  the  redwoods.  You 
may  see  a  dozen  of  them  clinging  to  the  bark  of  one 
tree  in  the  most  uncomfortable  positions,  pecking 
away,  each  at  a  hole.  But  the  carpentaros  work  for 
the  more  lazy  portion  of  creation,  and  one  of  their 
enemies  is  the  beautiful  gray  squirrel  which  abounds 
here.  I  have  often  watched  a  gray  squirrel  ascend  a 
redwood ;  for  the  birds  work  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
tree.  He  is  immediately  surrounded  by  carpentaros, 
who,  knowing  him  of  old,  are  at  no  loss  to  divine  his 
object,  but  the  open  day  robber,  nothing  daunted,  at 
once  extracts  an  acorn,  and  popping  it  in  his  mouth, 
he  turns  his  head  from  side  to  side  in  the  quaintest 
manner  possible,  as  if  to  say  to  the  birds  that  chatter 
around  him,  "Pray  go  on,  don't  mind  my  feelings." 
Then  down  he  comes  whisking  his  beautiful  silvery 
tail.  Then  the  carpentaros  assemble  round  the  pil- 
laged hole,  and  scream  over  the  matter  so  much  that 
you  may  imagine  them  to  be  abusing  the  squirrel  in 
their  choicest  slang  ;  and  presently  up  comes  gray 
squirrel  again  for  another  acorn,  having  found  the  first 
so  good ;  and  then,  fresh  carpentaros  having  arrived, 
the  noise  becomes  so  intolerable,  that  the  most  en- 
thusiastic of  naturalists  would  walk  oif  with  his  fin- 
gers in  his  ears.  The  grizzly  bear  also  takes  advant- 
age of  the  exposed  condition  of  the  carpentaro's  win- 
ter provision,  and  climbs  the  redwood  in  much  the 
same  fashion  as  the  gray  squirrel,  though  less  grace- 
fully ;  so  they  say :  I  never  saw  a  bear  in  this  posi- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  109 


tion,  and  if  unarmed  I  should  not  wait  to  study  his 
habits,  if  I  did ;  for  although  naturalists  tell  us  that 
the  bear  is  graminivorous,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
grizzly  would  sacrifice  all  the  acorns  that  grow  for  a 
juicy  piece  of  the  calf  of  one's  leg. 

The  carpentaro  has  a  more  destructive  enemy  than 
even  the  squirrel  or  the  bear,  and  a  greater  beast  than 
either — the  Digger  Indian.  These  miserable  speci- 
mens of  humanity  will  light  a  fire  at  the  root  of  a  well- 
stocked  redwood  tree  until  it  falls  ;  they  then  extract 
the  carpentaro's  acorns  and  fill  many  baskets'  full, 
which  they  carry  away. 

"Eat  as  much  as  you  like,  but  pocket  none,"  the 
justly  indignant  carpentaros  might  say. 

The  redwood  tree  is  the  main-stay  of  California. 
The  supply  is  inexhaustible,  but  nature  has  been  suf- 
ficiently capricious  to  make  them  most  abundant  in 
very  inaccessible  spots,  while  the  level  plains  are  cov- 
ered with  a  short-grained  dwarf  oak,  serviceable  only 
for  firewood.  But,  however  steep  the  mountains,  the 
Californian  redwood  has  to  fall  and  to  be  fashioned 
to  the  use  of  man,  and  when  a  steam  saw-mill  gets 
perched  upon  a  mountain-top  the  romance  of  the  forest 
is  gone  ;  its  silent  grandeur-  no  longer  awes  the  mind ; 
and  the  trees,  whose  size  and  beauty  caused  such  deep 
impressions  and  such  grave  reflections,  fall  into  insig- 
nificance as  you  see  them  torn  into  planks  and  packed 
on  wagons,  while  the  once  still  forest  resounds  to  the 
sound  of  the  ax  and  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  steam- 
engine.  I  have  been  very  disappointed  at  finding 
these  sudden  changes  in  revisiting  some  of  my  old 
hunting-grounds. 


110       MOUNTAIN'S    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Thomas  now  arrived  with  our  stores,  which  we  un- 
packed with  great  pleasure,  as  they  had  not  seen  the 
light  since  we  had  boxed  them  up  ourselves  in  En- 
gland, and  every  article  was  associated  with  home. 
We  set  to  work,  and  in  a  fortnight  had  completed  a 
two-roomed  house,  close  to  the  redwood  clump :  we 
then  converted  that  apartment  into  a  larder  and  store- 
house. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  very  much  upon  the 
subject  of  deer-shooting,  as — even  could  1  say  what 
has  not  been  said  before  by  mightier  hunters  than  I — 
the  subject  has  interest  for  sporting  men  alone. 

I  have  mentioned  in  the  early  part  of  this  chapter 
that  bears  were  said  to  be  plentiful  in  the  country  I 
had  chosen  for  my  sojourn.  The  Californian  hunter 
holds  the  grizzly  bear  in  great  respect ;  and  not  with- 
out reason,  when  we  consider  that  this  animal  is 
difficult  to  kill,  that  he  is  a  relentless  pursuer  when 
wounded,  and  that  he  can  run  and  climb  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances  with  more  agility  than  his  assail- 
ant. On  this  account,  and  from  the  fact  that  you 
must,  from  the  nature  of  his  haunts,  attack  him  on 
foot,  a  wounded  grizzly  bear  is  a  worse  enemy  to  en- 
counter than  a  tiger.  March  had  promised  to  make 
up  a  bear-hunt  for  us,  and  in  a  day  or  two  he  came 
over  to  the  farm  with  two  hunters  of  the  name  of 
Sheldon  and  Carter ;  both  hard-looking  fellows,  car- 
rying nothing  but  their  rifles,  a  knife,  and  a  Colt's  re- 
volver, which  latter  is  invaluable  in  all  kinds  of  hunt- 
ing. 

The  Americans  carried  rifles  of  their  own  make; 
capital  make  too,  though  too  weak  in  the  lock  on  ac- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Ill 


count  of  the  cheap  price  at  which  they  are  supplied. 
The  bore  of  their  rifles  seemed  small  for  bear-shoot- 
ing, carrying  a  half-ounce  ball,  but  they  seemed  to 
consider  that  their  skill  in  shooting  counterbalanced 
this  deficiency.  I  carried  the  only  rifle  that  I  ever 
used  of  those  I  took  out,  one  of  German  make,  carry- 
ing a  ball  of  an  ounce  and  a  half.  I  should  say  here 
that  our  rifles  were  often  the  subject  of  discussion 
with  these  honest  fellows.  I  had  two  Rigby's  with 
an  accumulation  of  sights,  which  were  perfectly  use- 
less for  my  work,  although  they  were  beautifully-fin- 
ished weapons  ;  and  Barnes's  friendly  disputes  con- 
cerning the  relative  merits  of  the  American  barrel, 
with  its  enormous  weight  of  metal  and  long  point- 
blank  range,  and  the  English  lock,  with  its  wholesome 
click,  and  the  American  stock,  with  its  carved  butt, 
that  gives  so  much  steadiness  to  the  muscles  of  the 
body  when  you  aim,  resulted  in  a  combination  that 
was  highly  approved  of  by  all  parties ;  for  all  these 
good  qualities  were  amalgamated  by  the  construction 
of  a  new  stock,  and  thus  a  rifle  was  produced  that, 
among  ourselves,  enjoyed  great  celebrity,  and  this 
rifle  March  has  probably  in  his  possession  to  this  day. 

The  German  rifle — to  which  I  have  alluded — was 
rather  too  short,  but  very  true  within  a  hundred  yards, 
and  its  qualities  were  expressed  by  its  name,  "  Shoul- 
der-breaker," engraved  on  the  stock.  It  is  a  rare  thing 
to  get  a  good  rifle  carrying  a  heavy  ball. 

We  started  at  once  in  search  of  our  bear — six  in 
number — and  accompanied  by  a  small  dog  belonging 
to  Sheldon.  It  was  not  until  the  afternoon  that  we 
struck  upon  a  fresh  bear  sign,  of  which  March  had 


112       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

had  previous  knowledge.  The  sign  led  into  thick  un- 
derwood, in  which  the  bear  seeks  shade,  but  which  is 
the  worst  of  all  places  for  killing  him.  March  dis- 
posed us  in  couples ;  we  then  spread,  and  entered  the 
thicket  at  a  partially- cleared  part.  Almost  imme- 
diately I  heard  a  crash  and  an  angry  roar,  and  then  a 
shot  was  fired  to  the  left.  It  was  necessary  for  us  to 
retrace  our  steps,  on  account  of  intervening  jungle,  to 
rejoin  our  party;  which  done,  the  bear  was  in  view. 
I  was  astonished  at  his  size ;  standing  on  his  hind- 
legs  with  his  mouth  open,  like  a  thirsty  dog,  and 
working  himself  up  and  down,  he  indicated  that  he 
felt  the  inconvenience  of  the  pellet  that  March  had  in- 
tended for  his  heart,  but  which  had  lodged  in  his  ali- 
mentary canal.  However,  in  an  instant,  and  as  if  by 
a  sudden  impulse,  he  again  assumed  the  position  of  a 
quadruped,  and  bounded  toward  March  and  Sheldon, 
clearing  as  much  ground  at  each  stride — for  he  was 
as  big  as  an  ox — as  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
winner  of  the  Liverpool  steeple-chase.  A  shot  from 
the  right  altered  his  course  again  in  that  direction,  for 
the  grizzly  bear  will  turn  to  the  last  assailant,  and 
this  enforces  the  necessity  of  bear-hunters  supporting 
each  other. 

A  momentary  uncertainty  on  his  part  gave  me  an 
opportunity  of  troubling  him  with  one  of  my  1J  oz. 
balls  ;  but  this  only  elicited  a  grunt  and  a  rush  in  my 
direction.  I  confess  that,  as  soon  as  my  rifle  was  dis- 
charged, I  felt  great  inclination  to  disregard  March's 
directions,  which  were,  not  to  use  my  revolver,  but, 
if  possible,  to  reload  my  rifle  directly  I  had  fired, 
under  all  circumstances.    While  in  a  curious  state 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  113 


of  uncertainty  on  this  point,  though  loading,  the  bear 
swerved  suddenly  on  one  side  in  chase  of  the,  little 
high-couraged  dog  that  belonged  to  Sheldon. 

This  dog  had  been  in  other  bear-hunts,  and  was 
generally  very  useful ;  for  the  grizzly  has  a  great 
suspicion  of  any  thing  behind  him ;  and  if  a  dog 
can  be  trained  to  worry  his  hams,  the  bear  will  turn 
round  and  round  and  afford  much  facility  to  the  hunt- 
ers. 

I  fancy  the  dog  must  have  got  hurt,  or  lost  his 
pluck,  for  he  now  rushed  straight  to  his  master,  and 
the  bear  followed :  Sheldon  fired  as  the  grizzly  ap- 
proached, but  without  effect ;  and  the  next  moment 
poor  Sheldon  was  down  bathed  in  blood ;  one  blow 
had  carried  away  the  flesh  entirely  from  one  side  of 
his  face,  fracturing  his  jaw-bone  in  the  most  frightful 
manner. 

The  bear  disappeared,  and  probably  retired  to  die, 
while  we  carried  Sheldon  home,  with  what  feelings  of 
grief  I  need  not  say.  We  sent  him  on  to  Sonoma  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  he  afterward  recovered,  though 
dreadfully  disfigured,  and  with  the  loss  of  an  eye.  It 
was,  perhaps,  on  account  of  this  accident  that  we 
made  up  no  more  parties  for  the  express  purpose 
of  bear-hunting,  but  left  it  to  chance  to  meet  them, 
and,  as  it  happened,  accident  threw  very  few  in  our 
way. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  killing  the  grizzly  bear  arises 
from  the  formation  of  his  head,  which  is  convex.  The 
ball  generally  glances  off  sufficiently  to  avoid  the 
brain.  You  have,  in  fact,  but  three  vital  parts — 
the  back  of  the  ear,  the  spine,  and  the  heart — and  it 


114      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


is  said  that  the  grizzly  bear  will  live  long  enough  aft- 
er being  shot  in  the  latter  part  to  do  much  mischief. 
He  is  always  in  motion,  and  1  think  the  steadiest  of 
hunters  will  allow  that  his  conduct  when  wounded  is 
not  calculated  to  improve  one's  aim.  The  very  fact 
of  finding  that  you  hit  him  so  often  without  effect, 
destroys  confidence,  and  the  sudden  rushes  that  the 
bear  makes  at  his  assailant  is  a  great  trial  to  the 
hunter's  nerve.  There  are  many  accidents  of  the 
description  I  witnessed  on  record,  although  I  know 
one  or  two  instances  of  bears  being  killed  at  the  first 
shot. 

It  appears  to  me  that  a  recorder  of  travels  has  a 
difficulty  to  surmount,  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  no 
other  writer ;  for  while  duty  admonishes  him  to  give 
a  strictly  veracious  account  of  every  thing  that  comes 
before  his.  notice  (and  of  a  great  deal  that  does  not), 
inclination  and  the  publisher  prompt  him  to  avoid  pro- 
siness,  for  this  very  good  reason,  that  if  he  enters  into 
details  he  bores  his  readers ;  but  then,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  he  is  not  sufficiently  specific,  he  is  pronounced 
a  "superficial  observer." 

This  observation  is  induced  by  the  necessity  of  my 
introducing,  at  all  costs,  further  accounts  respecting 
the  grizzly  bear. 

When  we  consider  the  weight  of  the  grizzly,  which 
often  reaches  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  the  enormous 
strength  of  which  he  is  possessed,  as  evidenced  by 
the  limbs  of  trees  which  he  will  wrench  from  the 
trunk,  and  his  extraordinary  speed  and  activity,  we 
have  reason  (speaking  as  one  who  lives  in  his  vicinity) 
for  congratulation  that  the  animal  is  of  inoffensive  hab- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


115 


its,  and  avoids  the  presence  of  man.  The  sole  instance 
to  the  contrary  is  that  in  which  you  are  unfortunate 
enough  to  invade  the  domestic  circle  of  the  she-bear 
when  accompanied  by  her  cubs  :  she  invariably  gives 
chase  the  instant  she  sees  the  intruder,  who,  if  he  is 
wise,  will  "  draw  a  bee-line"  in  an  opposite  direction. 
In  running*  from  a  bear,  the  best  plan  is  to  turn 
round  the  side  of  a  hill ;  for  the  bear  having  then,  as 
it  were,  two  short  legs  and  two  long  ones,  can't,  un- 
der such  circumstances,  run  very  fast.  There  is  but 
one  sized  tree  that  you  can  climb  in  safety  in  escaping 
from  a  bear,  and  you  may  run  a  long  way  before  you 
find  it.  It  must  be  just  too  small  for  your  pursuer  to 
climb  up  after  you,  and  just  too  large  for  it  to  pull 
down — a  nice  point  to  hit.  The  she-bear  is  invariably 
irascible  when  nursing ;  and  perhaps  this  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  the  male  bear  is  seldom  found  in  her 
company :  to  her  he  leaves  the  education  and  support 
of  their  progeny,  while  he  seeks  amusement  elsewhere 
— I  might  say  at  his  club  ;  for  it  is  the  habit  of  bears 
to  congregate  in  threes  or  fours  under  a  tree  for  hours, 
and  dance  on  their  hams  in  a  very  ludicrous  manner, 
with  no  apparent  ostensible  object  but  that  of  passing 
the  time  away,  and  getting  away  from  their  wives. 

I  have  heard  many  anecdotes  related  of  grizzly 
bears.  I  choose  the  following  as  characteristic  of  a 
well-established  fact,  that  the  bear,  even  when  infuri- 
ated, not  only  acts  from  the  instinct  of  self-preserva- 
tion, but  seems  loth  to  kill  and  mangle  what  it  attacks. 

In  the  hills  round  San  Jose,  an  unarmed  negro 

*  I  am  supposing  the  case  of  an  unarmed  person  suddenly  meet- 
ing a  she-bear — a  not  unusual  occurrence  in  California. 


116 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


came  suddenly  on  a  she  grizzly  with  cubs.  She 
pursued  him,  and  fortunately  for  him  struck  him  on 
the  head,  which  knocked  him  down,  but  did  not  of 
course  (he  being  a  nigger)  inflict  any  serious  damage 
on  the  part  assailed.  The  man  wisely  remained  per- 
fectly still,  while  the  bear,  who  knowing  nothing  about 
"darkies'"  heads,  supposed  she  had  gained  the  day 
by  a  coup  de  main,  retired  for  a  short  distance.  After 
remaining  quiet,  as  he  supposed,  sufficiently  long,  the 
negro  thought  of  getting  up,  but  his  first  movement 
was  arrested  by  a  crack  on  the  other  side  of  his  head, 
and  down  he  went  again,  and  the  bear  retired  to 
watch  over  his  interests.  It  was  a  long  time  before 
the  negro  again  attempted  to  rise  (for  more  reasons 
than  one),  and  this  was  not  until  the  bear  had  quitted 
the  spot,  apparently  satisfied ;  but  no  sooner  was 
Quashy  up  to  look  about  him,  than  the  bear  darted  out 
from  another  quarter,  and  this  time  she  did  poor  Darky 
great  injury:  she  tore  his  back  and  knocked  him  sense- 
less, and  then  half  covered  him  up  with  leaves.  After 
this  she  was  quite  satisfied,  and  the  negro  was  shortly 
afterward  discovered  and  resuscitated,  and  felt  quite 
unwell  all  the  next  day;  but  told  this  story  long 
afterward  to  me  with  great  satisfaction,  and,  I  need 
not  add,  with  unimpeachable  veracity. 

I  have  mentioned  the  dexterity  with  which  the 
Spaniard  throws  the  lasso,  and  the  weapon  has  been 
successfully  employed  in  entrapping  the  bear.  The 
noose  is  thrown  over  him  when  he  is  near  a  tree,  and 
by  riding  in  a  circle  he  is  secured  by  a  dozen  thongs. 
This  is  one  of  the  feats  which  the  Spaniards  assure 
you  they  can  do. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


117 


Although  the  grizzly's  natural  food  consists  proba- 
bly of  roots  and  acorns,  I  suppose  he  must  be  ranked 
as  omnivorous,  for  he  certainly  crunches  a  bone  with 
great  gusto.  The  bears  cleared  off  any  bones  that 
were  lying  round  our  hut;  and,  in  one  instance,  we 
shot  at  a  couple  that  came  close  to  our  door  at  night 
and  stole  the  bones  from  under  the  noses  of  the  dogs. 
One  bear  walked  away  with  a  large  piece  of  meat  and 
the  iron  hook  on  which  it  hung,  but  whether  he  swal- 
lowed the  hook  with  the  bait,  or  pulled  it  out  with 
his  fingers,  we  never  ascertained;  he  never  brought  it 
back  again,  so  we  indulge  in  the  hope  that  it  sticks  in 
his  jaws  to  this  day,  and  that  he  has  found  out  "qu'il 
n'y  a  point  de  roses  sans  des  epines." 

Bear  meat  is  eatable,  but  very  devoid  of  flavor,  and 
I  think  the  grizzly  indulges  in  too  much  gymnastic 
exercise  to  qualify  him  for  the  table  of  the  epicure. 
He  figures  in  the  bill-of-fare  at  all  Californian  Restau- 
rants, and,  as  a  great  number  of  the  common  black 
bears  are  caught  alive  in  traps,  the  San  Francisco 
hairdresser  has  no  difficulty  in  "  sacrificing,  on  any 
occasion,  a  real  animal  for  the  benefit  of  his  cus- 
tomers." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Deer  Hunting. — Wild  Bulls. — Wild  Fowl. — A  Duck  Gun. — Driving 
an  Ox-team. — I  reflect. — An  Estampede. — The  Tiger  Cat. — Rainy 
Season. — Indian  Tires. — Wasps. — We  are  robbed  by  the  Indians. 
— I  kill  a  Bear. — Crossing  a  Swollen  River. 

Christmas,  1850. 

To  render  agreeable  a  life  where  men  are  thrown 
entirely  on  their  own  resources,  the  chief  point  is  to 
insure  contentment,  and  nothing  conduces  more  to 
this  end  than  to  apportion  to  each  one  of  the  part  y  an 
equal  and  strictly-defined  share  of  work.  Forest  life, 
in  my  case,  never  altered  the  relations  that  existed 
between  myself  and  those  in  my  employment,  nor 
will  real  respect  ever  vanish  under  the  familiar  contact 
which  such  a  life  imposes. 

I  gave  Barnes  the  woods  and  forests,  which  was 
not  such  a  sinecure  as  it  is  here,  as  he  had  full  em- 
ployment for  the  winter  in  felling  the  redwoods,  and 
splitting  them  into  rails  for  inclosing  the  farm.  Thom- 
as undertook  the  ' 4  hewing  and  drawing,"  the  cooking, 
and  the  internal  cleanliness  of  the  house ;  and  this 
latter  is  very  essential  in  mountain  life.  Take  every- 
thing out  of  your  hut  daily  and  hang  it  in  the  sun; 
then,  water  well  the  floor  ;  this  drives  away  the  vermin 
which  abound  in  the  deer  and  hare  skins;  it  also  in- 
sures you  against  scorpions  and  centipedes,  which  are 
apt  to  introduce  themselves  into  the  fire-wood.  It 
devolved  on  me  to  supply  the  larder,  and  the  amount 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  119 

of  exertion  required  for  this  duty  varied  considerably. 
One  day  an  easy  walk  would  bring  me  to  a  marsh, 
and  a  few  shots  from  my  double-barreled  gun  would 
secure  as  many  wild-ducks  as  we  required,  but  on 
another  I  might  be  doomed,  after  a  long  journey,  to: 
extend  myself  over  the  carcass  of  a  buck,  and  then, 
exposed  to  a  glaring  sun,  unaided,  flay  my  quarry 
and  disembowl  him,  quarter  him,  and  carry  him  home 
piece  by  piece,  over  four  or  rive  miles  of  successive 
cindery  hills.  I  had  no  stout  little  pony  with  a 
shaggy  mane  and  tail,  such  as  one  sees  carrying 
home  the  deer  in  Landseer's  splendid  pictures.  I 
had  to  take  as  much  meat  as  I  could  4 '  pick-a-back,"' 
or  else  leave  it  to  the  coyotes,  who  would  appear  in 
sight  while  I  was  yet  at  work  on  the  carcass.  If  this 
part  of  a  hunters  duty  was  entailed  upon  our  fashion- 
able deer-stalkers,  many  of  the  deer  would  reap  the 
benefit,  not  so  much  by  being  flayed  and  carried 
home  by  members  of  the  aristocracy,  as  in  being  left 
alone. 

The  monotony  of  this  life  was  varied  by  excursions 
into  the  adjacent  country,  and  these  would  last  two 
or  three  days  ;  during  which  time  we  left  the  hut  to 
take  care  of  itself ;  and,  carrying  each  a  rifle  and  a 
blanket,  with  a  few  other  necessaries,  we  passed  our 
nights  by  the  camp-fire,  and  in  the  day  discovered 
wonders  of  nature  that  amply  repaid  us  for  our  jour- 
ney. The  first  object  that  attracted  our  attention  was 
an  immense  hill  of  sulphur,  and  we  discovered  hot; 
springs  strongly  impregnated  with  this  mineral  in  its 
immediate  vicinity.  Round  one  of  the  springs  was 
an  apparently  hard  crust  of  sulphur  but  this  was 


120 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


treacherous,  as  Thomas  found  out,  for  it  was  the 
cause  of  his  tumbling  in  and  getting  a  medicated 
bath ;  and  although  he  soon  dried,  he  smelt  so 
strongly  of  lucifer  matches  for  some  days  afterward 
as  to  be  almost  unbearable.  We  brought  some  of 
the  sulphur,  which  was  very  pure,  away  with  us. 
We  also  discovered  large  craters,  and  igneous  rocks, 
piled  in  such  vast  confusion  as  indicated  the  blind 
fury  with  which  the  earth  had  torn  and  rent  itself  on 
some  former  great  occasion.  The  whole  of  California 
has  been  subjected  to  more  than  ordinary  violent  dis- 
turbances, but  the  vegetation  of  thousands  of  years 
has  decomposed  since  then,  and  the  huge  rocks 
that  were  once  hurled,  red-hot,  I  dare  say,  into 
the  air,  are  now  deeply  embedded  in  the  surround- 
ing soil. 

These  excursions  opened  a  new  field  for  our  rifles, 
for,  while  taking  a  bird's-eye  view  one  morning  from 
the  elevation  on  which  we  had  encamped,  our  atten- 
tion was  arrested  by  the  appearance  of  a  herd  of  wild 
cattle.  Having  observed  the  direction  in  which  they 
were  grazing,  and  finding  that,  unfortunately,  the 
direction  of  the  wind  prevented  our  heading  them,  I 
adopted  a  plan  which  proved  successful.  Carefully 
keeping  them  in  sight  from  the  rear,  as  I  knew  that 
water  was  not  immediately  ahead  of  them,  I  foresaw 
that  toward  sunset  they  would  alter  their  course,  and, 
guided  by  their  instinct,  graze  toward  the  nearest 
spring.  This  they  did  in  the  afternoon ;  and  having 
now  a  side  wind,  we  hastened  to  look  for  cover  in 
their  line  of  march,  glad  to  exchange  the  slip-shod 
pace  at  which  for  hours  we  had  followed  their  move- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  121 

ments,  for  a  brisk  double  in  the  other  direction.  As 
soon  as  we  had  hit  our  line,. I  sent  Barnes  out  to  re- 
connoitre, and  he  immediately  returned,  having  dis- 
covered the  spring  and  a  good  cover  a  little  in  ad- 
vance of  it.  We  soon  took  up  our  positions,  and  be- 
fore long  the  herd  appeared  in  view,  five  black  bulls, 
one  a  young  one.  They  were  most  beautiful  beasts, 
with  sleek  and  glossy  coats ;  thin  in  the  flank,  broad 
in  the  chest,  and  rather  short  of  horn.  They  evinced 
uneasiness  at  once  when  within  shot,  and  stared  in 
our  direction,  snuffing  the  air  and  pawing  the  ground. 
As  the  young  one  presented  his  broadside,  he  fell  on 
his  knees  to  "  Shoulder-breaker,"  and,  tail  on  end, 
went  the  rest  of  the  herd  at  a  long  trot  over  the  hills. 
We  walked  up  to  our  friend  to  give  the  "  coup  de 
grace,"  but  through  a  want  of  caution,  not  usual  with 
him,  Barnes  got  a  bad  bruise,  for  the  bull,  by  a  sud- 
den exertion,  rose  and  plunged  at  him,  catching  him 
fall  in  the  chest,  and  knocking  him  down,  then  fell 
down  himself,  never  to  rise  again.  Barnes  felt  some 
pain  for  a  day  or  two,  which  we  allayed  with  the  in- 
fallible castor-oil;  but  I  rather  suspect  his  chief  an- 
noyance was  caused  by  having  been  floored  by  a 
young  bull,  for  whom,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
I  think  he  was  a  match  in  physical  strength. 

Although  wild  cattle  are  not  described  as  being  in- 
digenous to  the  country,  I  have  no  doubt,  from  their 
appearance,  that  these  were  so,  and  that  then  cows 
were  not  many  miles  away.  It  is  vexatious  to  be 
obliged  to  leave  a  fine  carcass  to  the  wolves  and  vul- 
tures ;  but  as  a  bullock  is  too  much  for  three  men, 
and  we  were  far  from  home,  we  cut  out  the  best  part 

F 


122       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  it  and  returned  to  camp ;  and  the  coyotes  made  a 
fine  noise,  during  the  night,  over  what  remained. 

The  wild  fowl  now  came  over  in  heavy  flights  and 
settled  in  our  vicinity.  The  geese  were  in  incredible 
numbers ;  white  and  gray  geese,  and  brant.  Of  ducks 
we  had  several  varieties,  many  of  them  quite  unknown 
to  me,  and  I  regret  that  I  failed,  from  want  of  mate- 
rials, in  my  endeavors  to  preserve  specimens  of  them. 
The  geese  are  very  easily  shot  when  first  they  arrive, 
but  soon  become  very  wary.  The  easiest  and  best 
plan  is  to  construct  little  huts  of  green  stuff  near  the 
marshes  they  frequent,  and  you  are  sure  of  good  flight 
shooting  at  daylight.  I  had  a  large  duck-gun  that  I 
had  used  in  punt-shooting  in  Norfolk,  but  it  was  very 
rebellious,  and  kicked  so,  when  used  from  the  shoulder 
without  a  rest,  that  I  placed  it  under  Barnes's  especial 
charge ;  and  whenever  he  felt  in  particularly  good 
health,  he  went  out  with  it,  and  you  might  see  him 
returning  with  geese  and  ducks  suspended  from  every 
part  of  his  body ;  his  face  wreathed  in  smiles  at  his 
good  fortune ;  but  the  next  morning  would  disclose 
a  bruise  on  his  right  shoulder  of  about  the  size  and 
color  of  a  certain  popular  green  dessert-plate.  Herons 
and  curlew  were  plentiful,  and  very  tender;  jack-snipe 
in  great  abundance,  but  I  never  disturbed  them,  for  I 
am  a  bad  snipe-shot,  and  the  first  rule  in  the  mount- 
ains is  to  spare  your  powder.  Hares  and  partridges 
were  in  abundance,  yet  were  also  spared,  as  we  wished 
them  about  the  place ;  but  rabbits  were  rather  scarce, 
and  very  small.  If  the  love  of  sport,  therefore,  was 
sufficient  to  chain  one  to  this  spot,  the  above  enumera- 
tion will  show  that  we  had  not  only  ample  occupation, 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  123 


but  variety ;  yet  I  determined  on  adding  farming  to 
my  other  amusements,  and  although  it  recurred  to 
me  that  when  I  gave  up  "gentleman  farming"  in  En- 
gland, I  registered  a  vow  to  leave  such  things  to  those 
who  better  understood  them,  I  thought  there  could  be 
no  danger  in  trying  "an  acre  of  maiden  soil." 

It  was  our  custom  of  an  evening,  after  our  supper 
was  over — the  fire  piled  up  with  blazing  oak  logs,  and 
each  man  had  lighted  his  pipe  and  received  a  noggin 
of  schnappes  after  the  fatigues  of  the  day — to  congre- 
gate in  one  room,  and  there,  after  lighting  a  candle, 
one  of  us  would  read  a  book  aloud.  I  had  a  good 
stock  of  books,  though  they  traveled  in  a  small  com- 
pass, and  as  they  were,  for  the  most,  by  Fielding, 
Smollett,  De  Foe,  Le  Sage,  Goldsmith,  and  that  class 
of  writers,  they  all  bore  reading  twice,  and  more  than 
twice,  so  that  our  evenings  were  passed  very  sociably. 
Barnes,  too,  who  was  an  uneducated  man,  was  taking 
instructions  in  writing  from  Thomas,  and  began  to 
learn  in  this  wild  spot  what  they  never  tried  to  teach 
him  in  the  Christian  village  where  he  first  saw  the 
light.  One  evening  these  amusements  were  set  aside 
for  the  discussion  of  the  subject  of  the  cultivation  of 
a  piece  of  the  farm.  Onions  were  at  this  time  com- 
manding fabulous  prices  in  San  Francisco ;  and  a  very 
simple  calculation  proved  as  distinctly  as  possible,  on 
jjaper,  that  one  acre  planted  with  onions  would  real- 
ize an  enormous  profit — provided  the  onions  came  up. 
To  insure  this  last  important  point,  I  engineered  a 
ditch,  which  was  to  convey  water  for  their  irrigation 
from  our  stream ;  and  leaving  the  others  to  carry  out 
these  works,  I  started  on  foot  for  San  Luis,  where  I 


124      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


arrived,  after  two  days,  very  foot-sore.  I  procured  a 
plow,  a  wagon,  a  yoke  of  strong  American  oxen,  and 
a  fresh  supply  of  groceries,  and  I  then  paid  a  flying 
visit  to  San  Francisco  in  a  small  fishing-boat,  and  re- 
turned to  Sonoma  with  seeds  of  all  kinds,  a  box  of 
horse-radish  roots,  which  came  in  very  well  afterward 
with  wild  bull,  and  about  five  hundred  fine  young 
fruit-trees.  The  difficulty  now  was  to  get  my  ox-team 
up  to  Russian  River,  for  I  knew  nothing  of  driving 
oxen.  However,  I  took  lessons  from  an  American 
teamster;  and,  as  there  are  but  two  words  of  com- 
mand, and  each  one,  when  delivered,  is  accompanied 
by  a  crack  on  the  head  of  the  ox  nearest  to  you,  I 
found  the  beasts  soon  recognized  my  voice  and  style 
of  hitting.  But  I  had  several  rather  impetuous  streams 
to  pass,  some  of  which  were  scarcely  fordable,  for  the 
rain  had  set  in;  I  was  doubtful,  therefore,  as  to  the 
method  to  be  adopted  in  forcing  my  team  through 
these.  This,  my  instructor  informed  me,  could  only 
be  accomplished  by  "talking  freely  to  the  oxen;" 
and,  to  my  demand  for  a  specimen,  he  jumped  on  the 
wagon,  and  working  himself  into  a  state  of  apparent 
frenzy,  he  stamped,  and  swore,  and  beat  them,  and 
cracked  his  whip,  and  execrated  them,  until  they  both 
broke  into  a  round  trot.  I  profited  by  his  advice,  and 
got  through  my  gulches  in  safety ;  and  I  can  only 
hope  that  the  "freedom  of  speech"  I  indulged  in  was 
justified  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

I  started  alone,  and  as  oxen  travel  very  slowly,  I 
was  three  days  and  a  half  getting  to  the  farm.  On 
my  way  I  met  a  good-looking  fellow,  with  black  beard 
and  mustaches,  who  asked  me  in  French  the  way  to 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  125 


the  nearest  log-hut.  I  entered  into  conversation  with 
him,  and  found  that  he  was  a  Normandy  man  of  the 
name  of  Lebret.  He  had  a  gun,  and  a  game-bag,  and 
gaiters  on  ;  in  fact,  he  was  a  "  Frenchman  out  shoot- 
ing" all  over,  with  nothing  in  his  game-bag.  I  found 
that  he  was  hard  up,  and  wanted  employment ;  so  I 
told  him  where  I  was  going,  offered  him  a  berth,  and 
with  an  "  Eh  bien  !r'  up  he  jumped,  and  after  crossing 
Russian  River,  for  which  we  were  just  in  time,  as  it 
was  much  swollen,  I  landed  my  cargo  and  Frenchman 
safe  and  sound  at  the  farm,  which,  after  my  temporary 
absence,  seemed  home  in  every  sense.  And  it  was  so. 
The  very  dogs  knew  it  for  a  happy  place  as  they 
bounded  out  to  bid  me  welcome  back.  Home  speaks 
in  the  grip  of  Barnes's  bony  hand ;  in  the  studied  pol- 
ish that  my  rifle  bears  as  it  hangs  above  my  bed ;  and 
home  speaks  in  the  eager  faces  that  group  around  the 
fire,  and  listen  to  my  brief  recital  of  what  befell  me 
since  we  parted. 

******** 

I  had  a  favorite  little  spot  on  my  hunting-ground 
that  I  always  selected  for  my  halt ;  it  was  a  little 
clump  of  sheltered  rocks,  and,  after  poking  about 
with  my  loading-rod,  to  turn  out  any  rattlesnake 
that  might  be  there,  I  would  sit  down  and  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  the  cool  shade  and  a  pipe.  All  good  sports- 
men agree,  and  with  great  truth,  in  the  impropriety 
of  smoking  while  working  up  to  game ;  but,  after 
walking  a  few  hours  in  the  hot  sun,  a  pipe  is  a  great 
luxury,  and  I  was  always  glad  to  reach  this  cover 
where  I  could  indulge  my  propensity  without  fear  of 
tainting  the  surrounding  atmosphere. 


126      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


I  have  often  mused,  as  I  have  sat  in  this  little 
den,  on  the  life  I  was  leading,  and  reflected  with  re- 
gret that  its  charms  must  some  day  succumb  to  use, 
and  that,  in  time,  even  deer-hunting  would  pall  on 
the  taste,  and  the  excitement  of  a  wild  life  become 
monotonous.  With  health  beating  in  every  pulse, 
with  God's'  best  gifts  strewed  round  him  in  profu- 
sion, and  intellect  to  fashion  them  to  use,  a  man  ac- 
knowledges instinctively  the  infinite  wisdom  of  the 
Creator,  and  feels  a  proportionate  gratitude  for  His 
gifts. 

It  is  easy  to  be  grateful  when  one  has  health, 
strength,  and  freedom,  and  easy  to  flatter  one's  self 
into  the  belief  that  a  life  so  primitive  is  more  natural 
than  one  more  civilized ;  but  it  is  but  the  lazy  grati- 
tude of  one  who  has  nothing  else  to  live  for  but  him- 
self, and  who  is  freed,  not  alone  from  the  convention- 
alities which  a  more  civilized  state  imposes,  but  from 
all  claim  upon  his  self-denial.  Freed  in  fact  from  the 
presence  of  all  evils  which  beset  man  elsewhere,  and 
tax  his  fortitude,  his  courage,  and  his  virtue ;  living 
but  for  himself,  with  himself  alone  to  study,  he  in- 
dulges in  selfishness,  and  is  happy.  And  this  is  the 
great  foundation-stone  of  the  charms  we  hear  associ- 
ated with  a  wild  free  life. 

One  night  a  herd  of  deer  jumped  our  railings,  and 
passing  close  to  the  hut,  crossed  the  river  at  great 
speed,  evidently  under  the  influence  of  fear.  We  list- 
ened, and  shortly  afterward  heard  a  pack  of  wolves, 
giving  tongue  in  the  distance.  The  next  morning 
the  ground,  which  was  soft,  gave  evidence  that  there 
had  been  an  estampede  the  night  before.    Herds  of 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  127 


deer  had  crossed  and  recrossed  in  every  direction  until 
they  had  forded  the  stream,  when  they  made  a  clean 
bolt  for  the  mountains.  Not  a  hare  was  to  be  seen ; 
and  for  several  days  we  had  an  empty  larder — living 
during  that  time  on  wheat  cakes,  for,  unfortunately, 
we  had  expended  all  our  small  shot.  I  imagine  that 
wolves  are  very  uncommon  in  the  country,  from  the 
facts  of  the  game  becoming  so  much  excited  at  their 
presence,  and  that  we  never  heard  their  bark  again. 
We  did  not  see  a  wolf,  but  their  44  sign"  was  unmis- 
takable. One  day  we  observed  the  trail  of  a  panther 
near  the  brook,  and  searched  for  him  without  success ; 
but  Barnes  bagged  him  next  day  to  his  own  gun.  He 
was  up  a  tree  when  Barnes  saw  him,  and  came  down 
with  great  rapidity  on  being  shot  through  the  skull. 
He  was  a  heavy  beast,  a  male,  and  of  a  tawny  color. 
This  animal  is  called  in  the  country  the  Californian 
lion. 

The  tiger  cat  is  a  beautiful  animal,  and  very  fero- 
cious for  its  size ;  we  saw  two  or  three  of  these, 
about  the  size  of  a  wild  cat,  and  beautifully  marked 
in  the  coat.  I  shot  but  one,  and  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  I  could  induce  him  to  resign 
his  life  without  having  his  skin  spoilt.  I  was  agree- 
ably surprised,  on  my  return  one  day  to  the  hut,  to 
find  a  horse,  saddled  and  bridled,  attached  to  our  rail- 
ing, and  I  ascertained  that  its  owner  was  a  country- 
man of  mine  who  had  been  44  prospecting"  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  had  been  directed  by  March 
to  our  camp.  They  say  we  are  a  stiff  and  formal 
people :  perhaps  so ;  but  in  the  mountains,  an  En- 
glishman needs  no  further  introduction  than  to  know 


128      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


a  man  for  a  countryman  to  place  the  best  he  has  at 
the  stranger's  service.  You  show  him  the  river  and 
give  him  a  towel:  you  supply  him  with  a  tin  plate 
and  spoon,  and  he  helps  himself  from  your  smoking 
pot :  you  produce  a  bottle  of  whisky  in  his  honor, 
and  after  placing  the  tobacco  cannister  at  his  el- 
bow, and  pointing  out  the  bundle  of  blankets  that 
will  form  his  bed,  you  enter  into  social  conversation. 
When  you  part  from  the  man  the  next  morning,  you 
feel  quite  sorry,  and  hope  to  see  him  again,  although 
there  is  little  probability  of  that,  for  these  are  chance 
meetings.  It  is  my  belief  that  there  is  an  honest 
purpose  in  the  hearty  wring  of  the  hand  that  such  a 
stray  visitor  gives  you  as  he  mounts  his  horse  to 
depart.  Whether  or  no,  he  can't  go  away  and  say 
your  rooms  are  damjp,  and  your  claret  is  sour,  that 
your  wife  is  a  fright,  and  your  pictures  are  trash,  as 
people  sometimes  do  in  more  civilized  countries,  after 
enjoying  the  hospitality  of  their  friends.  Our  guest 
produced  from  his  pocket  a  number  of  Punch,  and 
one  of  the  Illustrated  News — about  five  months  old. 
I  had  had  opportunities  of  reading  these  publications 
in  a  great  many  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the  globe, 
but  I  never  expected  that  they  would  reach  my  log- 
hut.  But  English  periodicals  creep  in  eveiy  where : 
and  I  remember  that  the  first  indication  I  received 
of  some  family  news  of  importance  was  when,  at  a 
picnic  at  Mount  Lebanon,  I  picked  up  a  scrap  of 
newspaper  which  had  contained  the  mustard  of  some 
party  who  had  preceded  us,  and  casually  glanced  at 
its  contents. 

The  rainy  season  was  now  approaching,  and  the 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  129 


heat  became  occasionally  intense.  At  times  the  In- 
dians would  lire  the  surrounding  plains,  the  long  oat- 
straw  of  which  would  ignite  for  miles.  The  flames 
would  advance  with  great  rapidity,  leaving  every 
thins;  behind  them  black  and  charred.  At  these  times 
a  dense  smoke  would  hang  over  the  atmosphere  for 
two  or  three  days,  increasing  the  heat  until  it  became 
insupportable.  I  had  a  thermometer  with  me  during 
the  whole  of  my  stay  in  California,  and  could  pro- 
duce an  elaborate*  meteorological  table ;  but  as  people 
say  you  should  write  as  you  talk,  I  shall  dismiss  the 
subject  of  the  temperature  of  Russian  River  by  re- 
marking that  in  summer  it  was  sometimes  as  warm 
as  Hong-Kong,  and  in  the  rainy  season  it  was  as  cold 
as  an  average  English  winter.  We  have  an  officer  of 
scientific  renown  in  our  naval  service,  who  is  selected 
by  the  Admiralty  to  explore  the  least  known  portions 
of  the  globe ;  of  which  parts,  when  he  returns,  he 
publishes  an  account,  which  would  be  interesting  in 
the  extreme,  but  that,  alas !  his  scientific  knowledge 
oozes  out  in  every  line,  and  the  reader,  after  hopeless- 
ly following  him  through  a  maze  of  figures,  which  are 
particularly  addressed  to,  and  understood  only  by, 
the  Geographical  Society,  shuts  the  book  in  despair, 
and  remains  for  life  in  ignorance  of  the  habits  of  the 
Chow-chow  Islanders.  • 

The  Digger  Indians  burn  the  grass  to  enable  them 
to  get  at  roots  and  wasps'  nests ;  young  wasps  be- 
ing a  luxury  with  them.  These  fires  have  the  good 
effect  of  destroying  immense  quantities  of  snakes 
and  vermin ;  and  one  can  scarcely  imagine  the  extent 

*  Query:  (Printers  Devil). 
F* 


130      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


to  which  these  might  multiply  were  they  not  occa- 
sionally "  burnt  out."  The  wasps  are  so  numerous 
here  in  summer,  as  to  destroy  with  rapidity  every 
thing  they  attack.  Fleas  not  only  abound  in  the  skins 
of  every  beast  you  kill,  but  even  live  on  the  ground, 
like  little  herds  of  wild  cattle;  and  ants  are  of  all 
shapes  and  sizes,  and  stand  up  savagely  on  their  hind 
legs  and  open  their  mouths,  if  you  only  look  at  them. 
The  wasps  attack  any  meat  that  may  be  hanging  up, 
and  commence  at  once  cutting  out  small  pieces,  which 
they  carry  home,  and  it  is  astonishing  the  quantity 
they  will  carry  away  with  them.  What  they  do  with 
it  when  they  get  home  I  never  ascertained;  but  I 
presume  that  they  ' 4  jerked"  it  for  winter  use,  as  the 
Spaniards  do. 

It  was  hard  work  at  dinner-time  to  know  who  the 
meat  belonged  to,  for  these  wasps  used  to  sting  on 
the  slightest  provocation ;  and  it  was  the  worst  part 
of  Thomas's  duty  to  take  a  hare  down  from  a  peg 
and  cut  it  up. 

But  neither  ants  nor  fleas  ever  troubled  our  per- 
sons ;  the  skins  were  always  sent  down  to  the  river 
while  yet  warm,  and  the  common  precautions  I  adopt- 
ed in-doors  insured  us  against  all  annoyance. 

It  now  commenced  to  rain  very  heavily,  but  not 
before  I  had,  fortunately,  completed  a  shed,  and  laid 
in  a  stock  of  fire-wood,  and  had  also  erected  an  addi- 
tional room  for  drying  wet  clothes,  etc.,  and  for  shel- 
tering the  dogs.  The  first  rain  lasted  for  four  days 
without  cessation;  and  here  again  I  am  unable  to 
state,  scientifically,  the  quantity  of  water  that  fell  in 
inches,  but  on  the  fourth  day  the  water  laid  on  our 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


131 


valley  of  such  a  depth  that  it  just  plummed  the  top  of 
a  pair  of  Cording's  fishing-boots,  which  came  up  to 
about  my  knees.  All  the  fruit  trees  and  garden  seeds 
were  in  the  ground ;  and  as  we  had  no  immediate  use 
for  our  oxen,  and  they  were  up  to  their  bellies  in 
water,  we  let  them  run  over  the  hills.  Shortly  after 
this  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  we  were  much 
distressed  at  missing  my  slot-hound.  Many  days 
elapsed  before  we  gained  any  clew  to  his  fate,  until, 
beating  up  some  new  ground  one  day,  I  came  upon 
what  remained  of  the  poor  old  fellow — his  skin  and 
bones.  He  had  broken  away  and  indulged  in  a  mid- 
night ramble,  and  had  evidently  been  attacked  and 
overpowered  by  coyotes,  of  which  two  carcasses  lay 
near  him.  We  all  felt  much  regret  for  the  old  fellow, 
for  he  was  a  good  stanch  dog,  and  had  been  a  great 
favorite  of  my  late  father.  We  buried  his  remains 
and  erected  a  mark  to  his  memory  ;  but,  although  I 
experienced  the  same  feeling  of  regret  that  most  men 
do  when  they  lose  a  favorite  and  faithful  hound,  I 
shall  refrain  from  inflicting  upon  the  reader  the  dole- 
ful stanzas  which  are  generally  addressed  "To  my 
Dog,"  on  these  occasions. 

January  1.  For  two  months  we  had  alternate  rain 
and  sunshine,  and  nothing  of  moment  occurred.  The 
farm  was  by  this  time  entirely  inclosed,  and  the  onions 
with  which  Barnes  had  planted  an  acre,  began  to  ap- 
pear above  the  ground.  We  had  also  large  patches 
of  vegetables  for  home  consumption. 

When  returning  one  day  from  an  excursion,  we 
found  that  the  Indians  had  paid  our  valley  a  visit, 
and  rifled  our  house  of  every  thing  they  thought  valu- 


132       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


able ;  cooking  utensils,  blankets,  clothes,  and  tools 
had  disappeared — but  we  had  taken  the  precaution  of 
depositing  our  powder  in  a  secret  place  which  they  did 
not  discover.  Our  rifles,  and  one  blanket  each,,  we 
had  with  us  on  our  excursion.  The  two  principal  an- 
noyances that  resulted  from  this  were,  firstly,  that 
the  nights  being  very  cold  indeed  now,  and  our  house 
very  thin,  our  blankets  were  a  serious  loss  ;  secondly, 
they  had  stolen  all  our  candles.  They  also  stole  our 
skins ;  not  that  I  ever  intended  to  bring  these  tro- 
phies away  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  for  with  the 
exception  of  the  puma-skin,  and  some  of  wild  cats, 
they  were  of  that  mild  description  which  are  only  ex- 
hibited in  tailors'  shop-fronts,  where  they  assume  the 
form  of  gentlemen's  hunting  inexpressibles.  The 
Indians,  it  afterward  appeared,  were  in  the  habit  of 
annually  following  the  course  of  our  stream  to  gather 
the  wild  grapes  which  grew  on  its  banks.  These 
people  will  eat  any  thing,  but  how  they  manage  the 
wild  grapes  is  a  mystery,  for  these  grapes  never  ripen, 
and  green  gooseberries  give  no  conception  of  their 
acidity.  In  pursuit  of  these  luxuries,  however,  they 
came  upon  our  camp,  and  took  away  whatever  they 
thought  they  understood  the  use  of,  but  evidently  de- 
parted in  a  great  hurry.  I  never  saw  an  Indian  during 
the  whole  of  my  stay  in  that  part  of  the  country ;  but, 
after  this  robbery,  had  any  ever  come  within  rifle 
range  either  of  my  hut  or  March's,  he  would  have  been 
shot  like  a  coyote  ;  for  once  let  an  Indian  think  he  can 
steal  with  impunity,  he  will  soon  attempt  to  murder 
you  for  the  clothes  on  your  back. 

Although  I  had  determined,  after  Sheldon's  casual- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  133 


ty,  upon  following  no  more  bears  into  the  bush,  which 
is  here  too  thick  for  the  use  of  the  rifle,  I  still  hoped 
to  kill  a  bear  during  the  winter,  trusting  to  a  chance 
meeting  under  favorable  circumstances ;  and  in  this 
respect  I  was  gratified,  inasmuch  as  I  killed  a  bear  to 
my  own  gun.  Now,  in  writing  from  memory,  one 
might  almost  be  excused  for  a  little  inaccuracy  in 
point  of  size  and  weight ;  and  I  must  confess  that  I 
have  an  almost  irresistible  temptation  to  forget  the  real 
dimensions  of  the  animal  that  surrendered  life  on  this 
occasion,  and,  calling  it  simply  a  bear,  leave  its  weight 
and  ferocity  to  be  conjectured  from  my  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  species.  In  fact,  it  was  a  cub,  that  I  once 
found  playing  by  itself  among  some  rocks.  I  should 
have  liked  to  have  taken  him  home  alive,  but  although 
his  movements  were  excessively  infantine  and  playful 
to  behold,  I  have  no  doubt  that  had  I  attempted  to 
capture  him,  he  would  not  only  have  bitten  me  until 
I  had  let  him  go,  but  would  have  hallooed  for  his 
parents,  and  brought  those  amiable  persons  to  the 
rescue.  So  I  shot  him  ;  and  I  had  quite  enough  to  do 
to  carry  him  home  deadv  for  he  was  very  fat.  I  must 
mention  here,  that  although  we  walked  this  country 
for  nearly  nine  months,  and  continually  alighted  on 
the  fresh  "  sign"  of  bear,  with  the  exception  of  those 
that  visited  our  hut  at  night,  and  the  others  above 
mentioned,  our  party  saw  but  three  bears,  two  of 
which  were  wounded,  but  escaped ;  and  this  is  proba- 
bly attributable  to  the  fact  that  the  bear's  sense  of  hear- 
ing enables  him  to  follow  up  his  natural  impulse  of 
avoiding  the  hunter. 

A  Colt's  revolver  is  invaluable  to  the  deer-hunter, 


134      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


both  for  self-defense  and  killing  wounded  game.  Per- 
haps the  best  praise  I  can  award  to  this  weapon  is  in 
saying  that  I  have  had  mine  for  four  years,  during 
which  time  it  has  been  much  used  and  more  abused, 
but  at  this  moment  it  is  perfect  in  every  respect,  and 
has  never  required  repair. 

We  searched,  or  "prospected"  the  adjacent  hills 
on  many  occasions,  to  discover  if  gold  existed  in  the 
surface  soil,  but  without  success.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark, that  this  district  of  country  is  similar  in  every 
respect  to  that  of  the  mining  regions.  Here,  as  there, 
is  a  succession  of  red  gravelly  hills,  interspersed  with 
veins  of  quartz,  all  of  which  have  been  subjected  to 
volcanic  agency  that  would  long  ago  have  ejected  the 
gold  from  the  quartz  had  there  been  any  in  it.  But 
the  mountain  in  labor  here  brought  forth  a  mouse ; 
while  a  few  miles  further  south  it  has  produced  results 
of  a  much  more  satisfactory  description.  We,  how- 
ever, did  discover  a  peculiar  blue  quartz,  which,  upon 
assay  by  fusion,  was  found  to  contain  a  large  quantity 
of  gold.  The  presence  of  silver  in  small  quantities 
was  also  evident  in  another  rock  we  discovered.  But, 
with  these  exceptions,  we  found  no  trace  of  any  de- 
scription of  metal  but  iron. 

It  was  now  spring,  and  I  started  alone,  on  foot, 
for  San  Francisco,  where  business  required  my  pres- 
ence. On  arriving  at  Bussian  Biver  I  found  the 
stream  much  swollen,  but  I  struck  a  part  of  the  river 
where  I  knew  one  of  the  hunters  had  a  log-hut  and  a 
dug-out,  or  canoe.  I  reached  the  hut  and  found  no 
one  at  home,  but  the  dug-out  was  hauled  up  and  the 
paddle  was  in  it. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  135 

It  was  easy  to  launch  the  dug-out,  which  was  very- 
long  and  thin ;  so,  seating  myself  in  the  stern,  I  was 
at  once  in  the  current.  I  need  not  say  that  I  should 
never  have  dreamt  of  paddling  myself  over  a  swollen 
river  in  a  canoe,  had  I  not  accustomed  myself  to  them 
when  in  the  Borneo  rivers ;  but  when  I  reached  the 
middle  of  the  stream  I  found  the  eddies  made  the 
dug-out  so  unmanageable,  and  the  current  was  so 
much  stronger  than  I  imagined,  and  the  water  hissed 
and  bubbled  about  me  to  such  an  extent  that  I  had 
to  keep  the  dug-out's  head  nearly  straight  up  stream, 
and  I  began  to  get  quite  giddy  and  bewildered,  and 
wished  I  was  safe  on  shore.  I  did  effect  a  landing, 
an  hour  afterward,  about  a  mile  lower  down  the  river ; 
I  had  just  strength  enough  to  land,  and  just  sense 
enough  to  feel  excessively  grateful  for  not  having  been 
carried  out  to  sea,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  capsized 
in  the  eddies  of  the  stream. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Quilp  departs  for  the  South. — San  Luis. — Ramsey. — I  am  left  for 
Dead. — The  early  History  of  California. — Discovery  of  San  Fran- 
cisco.— Spanish  Missions. — A  Digression. — Digression,  continued. 
— A  rainy  Season. — A  little  Crab. 

April,  1851. 

It  was  long  after  dark  when  I  arrived  at  Santa 
Rosa  Valley,  perfectly  "knocked  up."  Englishmen 
are  generally  good  pedestrians;  but  there  is  a  great 
difference  between  walking  on  the  level  in  well-made 
shoes,  and  dragging  through  deep  sloughs  and  acres 
of  thick  clayey  mud  in  heavy  ill-fitting  jack-boots, 
particularly  when  the  boots  appear  unwilling  to  pro- 
ceed in  your  society,  and  one  or  other  of  them  is  con- 
tinually disengaging  itself,  as  if  wishing  to  be  left  be- 
hind regardless  of  expense. 

I  found  that  the  Carillo  family  had  left  Santa  Rosa, 
and  the  valley  had  been  purchased  by  Americans  for 
the  purpose  of  cultivating  grain,  for  which  many  parts 
of  it  were  well  adapted.  The  Carillos  had  departed, 
with  horses,  dogs,  Indians,  and  Quilp,  for  the  south, 
where  the  wine  came  from,  where  the  temperature 
was  better  adapted  to  their  "  far-niente"  dispositions, 
and  where  in  particular  Quilp  was  likely  to  enjoy  a 
longer  lease  of  life  than  his  undisguised  hatred  of 
Americans  would  probably  have  permitted  had  he  re- 
mained much  longer  at  the  valley.  As  slothfulness 
and  ignorance  stepped  out,  intelligence  and  industry 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


137 


usurped  their  place,  and  on  the  rich  plain  the  wild 
waving  oats  fell  to  the  ruthless  scythe,  while  the 
plow  upturned  the  maiden  soil  on  every  side. 

And  so  must  other  lands  and  other  people  of  this 
continent  succumb  to  the  increasing  wants  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  man.  As  the  red  Indian  retires  before  the 
pale-face,  so  will  inert  bigotry  in  the  new  world  dis- 
appear before  the  march  of  energy  ;  and  the  bounteous 
riches  with  which  the  Creator  has  strewed  this  portion 
of  the  globe  must,  some  day,  be  under  a  rule  that  will 
admit  of  these  benefits  being  extended  to  mankind,  no 
longer  to  be  closed  to  the  world,  through  the  petty 
warfares  or  restrictive  seclusion  of  a  people  too  inert 
to  seize  the  advantages  around  them,  and  (with  a  full 
sense  of  this)  too  jealous  to  admit  others  to  do  so. 
******** 

About  five  miles  from  Sonoma  is  an  "embarca- 
dero,"  or  landing-place,  situated  on  a  mud  creek, 
which  is  navigable  for  small  boats,  and  communicates 
with  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  Here  are  three  houses, 
which  conjointly  represent  the  town  of  San  Luis  ;  op- 
posite the  town  some  fishing-boats  lay  at  anchor,  and 
in  one  of  these  I  bargained  for  a  passage  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  company  with  eight  live  bullocks,  that  were 
now  lying  on  the  strand,  bound  neck  and  heels  to- 
gether, moaning  piteously,  as  if  impatient  to  get  to 
the  butcher's  and  have  it  all  over. 

With  the  exception  of  the  owners  of  the  three 
houses,  the  population  of  San  Luis  was  a  particularly 
floating  one,  being  represented,  for  the  most  part,  by 
the  crews  of  the  fishing-smacks,  of  which  there  were 
at  times  a  great  number  in  port. 


138      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


From  the  centre  house  there  proceeded  the  sound 
of  a  fiddle  ;  and  as  no  one  could  "be  perceived  outside, 
it  became  evident  that  the  floating  population  had  here 
assembled  to  while  away  the  hours  until  the  tide  served 
to  enable  the  boats  to  leave. 

I  entered  the  house,  and  found  it  to  consist  of  a 
store  and  drinking-shop  combined ;  and,  in  virtue  of 
its  latter  attraction,  it  was  filled,  .as  I  had  anticipated, 
by  the  men  belonging  to  \he  boats,  who,  already  half 
drunk,  were  tossing  off  Champagne,*  out  of  tin  panni- 
kins, and  drinking  to  a  speedy  voyage  across  the  bay. 
The  proprietor  of  the  establishment  was  not  only  an 
Englishman,  but  he  was  one  of  those  plump,  rosy- 
cheeked,  good-natured-looking  fellows  that  attract  the 
eye  at  once,  and  whose  smile  is  sympathetic.  He  was 
a  gentleman — that  is  to  say,  he  had  been  educated  as 
one,  and  had  lived  as  one,  and  was  none  the  less  one 
(as  I  found  afterward),  now  that  he  kept  a  grog-shop. 
I  shall  call  him  Ramsey.  He  was  one  of  those  men 
who  never  make  money,  for  they  can  not  save ;  so 
that  when  Ramsey  left,  as  he  did,  a  high  and  very 
remunerative  position  of  trust  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
came  up  to  San  Francisco  with  a  cargo  of  flour,  in  the 
expectation  of  making  a  fortune  ;  and  when  he  determ- 
ined on  taking  the  flour  up  the  river  Sacramento,  and 
the  flour  was  caught  in  a  squall  in  the  bay  and  went 
down,  Ramsey  found  that  he  had  done  a  very  foolish 
thing.  However,  all  smiles  and  good-humor,  he  took 
the  grog-shop  and  store  at  San  Luis,  where  I  found  him. 

*  As  it  would  be  inferred  from  this  that  Champagne  must  have 
been  cheap,  I  may  mention  that  at  this  period  the  prices  ranged 
from  21.  to  47.  the  bottle,  and  the  quality  was  execrable. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  139 


Ramsey  had  related  these  adventures  to  me  before 
we  had  been  an  hour  acquainted ;  and  on  my  present- 
ing myself  as  a  countryman  (for  there  was  no  mistak- 
ing his  Anglo-Saxon  physiognomy),  he  had  immedi- 
ately relapsed  into  beaming  smiles,  and  placing  a  bot- 
tle of  Champagne  under  each  arm,  he  had  ushered  me 
into  his  little  bedroom,  leaving  his  assistant  to  attend 
to  the  wants  of  the  fresh-water  sailors. 

Understanding  from  him  that  he  had  lost  all  his 
personal  effects  when  his  cargo  disappeared,  I  was 
surprised  to  find  so  many  evidences  in  his  bedroom 
of  an  English  establishment — a  well-browned  hunt- 
ing-saddle and  bridle,  the  stalk  of  a  whip  and  a  pair 
of  spurs,  a  double-barreled  gun  and  fishing-rod,  with 
some  pairs  of  "  cords,"  were  observable  about  the  lit- 
tle pig-sty  he  called  his  room.  In  answer  to  my  in- 
quiring look,  he  said  he  had  just  had  time  to  save 
these  only  from  his  wreck,  and  that  they  were  pleas- 
ant things  to  have  about  one  as  reminiscences  of  old 
England,  and  happy  days  spent  in  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing there.  The  smile  forsook  his  face,  as  it  did  mine, 
when  he  said  this,  but  it  soon  returned  again  to  both 
of  us,  and  as  we  chatted  away  I  found  much  to  like 
in  my  new  acquaintance,  who  was  not  only  intelli- 
gent and  well-informed,  but  very  humorous.  There 
was  to  be  a  ball  that  night  at  Sonoma,  at  the  house 
of  one  Judge  White ;  and  as  the  boatmen  had  (from 
the  effects  of  the  Champagne)  delayed  their  departure 
until  the  next  morning,  I  agreed  to  accompany  Ram- 
sey, who  had  been  especially  invited,  to  this  festivity. 

At  the  ball  every  thing  appeared  to  be  conducted 
with  great  propriety  ;  but  the  company  was  composed 


140 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  honest  mechanics,  who,  with  the  best  intentions, 
danced  quadrilles  on  a  peculiar  principle,  inasmuch 
as  they  cut  capers  to  such  an  extent  as  obliged  the 
spectator,  however  disinclined,  to  smile.  In  no  un- 
complimentary spirit  I  made  a  remark  in  French  to 
Ramsey  on  the  subject,  and  this  being  overheard  and 
but  half  understood,  was  retaliated  in  the  following 
manner : 

During  a  pause  in  the  dances,  a  small  gentleman, 
who  had  overheard  my  remark,  and  who  was  one  of 
the  most  active  of  the  chassez-croisez  dancers,  and 
was  a  blacksmith,  though  apparently  small  for  his  pro- 
fession, informed  me  audibly,  with  fire  in  his  eyes, 
4 4  that  if  I  did  not  like  the  company,  I  might  leave  it, 
and  that  d — d  soon."  To  this  I  could  only  bow  my 
assent,  and  shortly  afterward,  being  unable  to  find 
Ramsey,  I  left  the  room,  intending  to  wait  for  him 
at  our  hotel,  that  was  close  by.  I  had  not  proceeded 
very  far,  when  I  was  suddenly  attacked  by  the  small 
blacksmith  and  three  other  gentlemen — blacksmiths, 
too,  I  presume ;  if  so,  they  evidently  mistook  my  head 
for  an  anvil,  for  they  so  belabored  it  with  bludgeons 
and  other  weapons  that  they  almost  killed  me,  and 
left  me  for  dead,  before  I  had  time  to  strike  a  blow 
in  defense. 

When  I  recovered  my  senses,  I  found  myself  alone 
on  the  grass,  and  I  then  managed  to  crawl  to  the 
hotel,  where  I  found  Ramsey  awaiting  me,  quite  un- 
suspicious of  the  cause  of  my  detention.  I  returned 
with  him  to  San  Luis,  and  soon  found  that,  farther 
than  having  been  stunned,  I  had  not  suffered  any 
material  damage.    This  delayed,  however,  my  depart- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  141 

ure  for  San  Francisco ;  and  during  this  time  a  cir- 
cumstance occurred  which  is  characteristic  of  the  easy 
state  of  the  law  in  the  provincial  districts  at  this 
time.  The  house  next  to  Ramsey's  was  occupied  by 
a  choleric  old  fellow,  who  also  dispensed  "notions." 
This  old  rascal  coolly  shot  a  man  over  his  bar  on  the 
most  trifling  provocation  ;  the  man  died,  and  the  mur- 
derer was  taken  before  Judge  White  (who  also  kept 
a  store,  by-the-by,  and  gave  his  ball  with  an  eye  to 
business) ;  the  Judge  not  only  (good,  merciful  fellow !) 
refused  to  detain  the  prisoner,  but  discharged  him 
without  bail,  which,  he  said,  was  not  requisite  ;  and 
this  was  all  that  justice  ever  exacted  at  the  hands  of 
this  cold-blooded  villain. 

I  started  at  last,  with  fair  wind  and  tide,  for  San 
Francisco,  in  a  small  yawl,  with  a  crew  of  three  men, 
who  were  not  only  half-drunk,  but  were  about  the 
greatest  lubbers  that  ever  went  afloat.  Before  we 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  creek  they  managed  to  run 
the  boat  on  the  bank,  where  the  ebb  tide  soon  left  her 
high  and  dry. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  can  no*  do  better  than 
introduce  a  sketch  of  the  early  history  of  California, 
which,  however  uninteresting,  must  he  brought  in 
somewhere ;  and  there  is  no  better  place,  I  think,  for 
imposing  it  on  the  reader,  than  while  we  are  waiting 
for  the  flood  tide  to  take  us  off,  and  are  spitefully  pelt- 
ing, out  of  a  bag  of  beans,  the  muddy  little  crabs  that 
surround  our  stranded  bark. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century 
that  stories  of  the  existence  of  untold  wealth  first 
inflamed  the  minds  and  excited  the  ardor  of  the  Mex- 


142       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


icans  and  Spaniards.  The  expedition  of  Hernando 
de  Alarcon  and  Francisco  de  Ulloa  had  returned  in 
safety  to  Mexico,  after  having  visited  the  river  Colo- 
rado, and  the  Pacific  coast  as  high  as  30°  North. 
Many  and  wondrous  were  the.  tales  these  "bold  adven- 
turers related  of  precious  stones,  and  gold  and  pearls ; 
of  Amazons,  and  wealthy  cities  ;  so  that  naturally  the 
attention  of  the  adventurous  was  turned  in  one  direc- 
tion only ;  and  the  dream  of  the  young,  the  ambition 
of  the  aged,  was  to  discover  this  Cibola — this  unde- 
veloped El  Dorado.  The  Viceroy  of  Mexico  at  this 
period  was  one  Mendoza,  a  jealous  opponent  of  the  re- 
nowned Cortes.  This  man  was  sufficiently  sagacious 
to  perceive  the  advantages  of  obtaining,  if  possible, 
possession  of  the  reported  gold  regions,  and  fitted  out 
an  expedition  in  the  port  of  Natividad,  consisting  of 
two  vessels,  which  were  placed  under  the  command  of 
Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  who  had  with  him  as  lieu- 
tenant Bartolome  Ferrelo. 

It  is  no  honor  to  the  viceroy  that  this  expedition 
was  set  on  foot  by  him,  for  in  those  days  the  dis- 
covery of  new  lands,  as  is  well  known,  conferred  large 
benefits  and  rewards  on  the  potentates  under  whose 
rule  the  expeditions  originated ;  while  the  brave  fel- 
lows who  risked  their  lives  in  carrying  out  the  work 
were  not  only  unrewarded  then,  but  in  few  instances 
have  been  considered  worthy  even  of  a  name  in  the 
history  of  the  countries  they  have  discovered.  It  was 
no  slight  proof  of  courage  to  undertake  this  voyage,  for 
it  will  be  remembered  that  not  only  were  the  vessels 
in  use  of  such  a  class  that  the  wonder  now  is  that  they 
ever  rode  out  a  gale ;  but  the  impression  was  strong 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  143 


in  the  minds  of  the  mariners  of  that  day,  that  the 
world  was  square,  and  that  to  arrive  at  its  limits 
would  bring  down  the  punishment  of  Heaven  for  their 
presumption,  even  if  they  did  not  tumble  over  the 
edge.  Nor  need  we  wonder  that  such  a  belief  existed 
in  those  superstitious  days.  Are  there  not  many 
now  among  the  civilized  and  enlightened  who  refuse 
to  investigate  the  palpable  evidences  of  the  power  of 
animal  magnetism,  from  the  fixed  belief  that  there 
should  be  a  limit  to  man's  inquiry  into  the  mysteries 
of  nature  ? 

The  expedition  sailed,  it  appears,  in  1542,  jogging 
on  at  the  rate  of  about  ten  miles  a  day.  Cabrillo  dis- 
covered in  succession  the  southern  ports  of  California. 
At  some  of  these  he  touched,  and  found  the  inhabit- 
ants to  consist  of  a  half-civilized  tribe  of  Indians,  who 
treated  him  with  kindness.  The  existence  of  these 
Indians  is  confirmed  by  later  writers.  Yizcaino,  who 
visited  these  shores  in  1602,  mentions  having  dis- 
covered idolatrous  temples  on  the  island  of  Catalina. 

The  surveys  of  this  expedition  are  not  of  much 
value  to  the  present  age,  as  the  nautical  instruments 
of  that  period  were  not  very  true ;  but  Cabrillo's  ex- 
plorations none  the  less  assisted  those  who  came  after 
him,  who,  with  instruments  equally  defective,  hit  his 
points  with  tolerable  accuracy,  although  there  was 
generally  an  error  in  his  latitude  by  observation  of 
about  a  hundred  miles. 

Cabrillo  at  last  worked  up  toward  San  Francisco, 
but  the  heavy  surf  and  iron-bound  coast,  together 
with  the  thick  fogs  that  hang  about  the  bay,  no  doubt 
prevented  his  entering,  and  he  resolved  on  returning 


144 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


and  awaiting  a  more  favorable  season ;  but  anchoring 
for  repairs  in  one  of  the  harbors  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
Islands,  the  old  sailor  died,  probably  from  fatigue  and 
exposure  to  the  damps  and  northwest  winds. 

The  command  of  the  expedition  then  devolved  upon 
Ferrelo,  who  bravely  made  another  attempt ;  but  fail- 
ing in  effecting  a  landing,  he  returned  to  Natividad, 
after  a  voyage  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-three  days. 
Sir  Francis  Drake  next  visited  California  in  1579; 
Juan  de  Fuca  in  1595,  and  Sebastian  Vizcaino  in 
1602.  This  latter  entered  the  bay  of  San  Francisco, 
though  probably  he  was  not  its  discoverer,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  boats  as  far  as  where  Benicia  now  stands. 

In  1769  the  settlement  of  Upper  California  was 
commenced  by  Spanish  priests  at  San  Diego,  and 
several  small  expeditions  followed  in  succession  until 
1776,  when  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  Palou 
and  Cambon  landed  in  San  Francisco,  and  established 
their  head-quarters  in  that  place.  The  settlement  at 
this  period  was  known  by  the  name  of  Yerba  Buena, 
from  the  presence  of  a  medicinal  herb  which  abounded 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  which  was  held  in  high  esti- 
mation by  the  Indians.  Here  the  missionaries  erect- 
ed a  church  and  other  buildings,  of  "adobes,"  or  sun- 
dried  bricks.  The  Mission  nourished  rapidly.  The 
Indians  soon  learnt,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Padres, 
the  advantages  of  cultivating  the  earth  ;  and  those  of 
them  that  embraced  the  Catholic  religion  began  to 
drink  rum,  and  value  beads,  as  is  usual  with  convert- 
ed savage  tribes.  Mexican  settlers  also  made  their 
appearance,  and  the  richest  portions  of  the  country 
were  soon  appropriated  by  them.    Gradually  cattle 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  145 


and  sheep  were  introduced,  which  in  their  wild  state, 
increased  rapidly  without  much  trouble  to  their  own- 
ers, who,  having  nothing  to  do  but  to  kill  their  meat 
and  eat  it,  basked  in  the  sun  like  lazy  dogs  as  they 
were,  and  thought  themselves  the  happiest  of  men ; 
and  it  is  difficult  for  any  one  to  prove  they  were  not. 

By  the  year  1831,  the  number  of  Christian  bap- 
tisms amounted  to  about  7000.  After  this  period, 
the  Indians,  from  some  cause  or  other,  perhaps  from  a 
scarcity  of  rum,  altered  their  minds  on  the  subject ; 
and  although  a  fresh  supply  of  priests  arrived,  the 
number  of  converts  rapidly  decreased,  so  much  so 
that  in  the  eight  years  preceding  the  discovery  of 
gold,  only  four  hundred  savages  were  caught  and 
converted.  And  if  one  may  judge  from  the  specimens 
of  converted  Indians  that  are  to  be  found  here  and 
there  in  California  at  the  present  date,  one  has  no 
reason  to  regret  that  the  efforts  of  the  priests  were 
unattended  with  success ;  for,  however  we  may  de- 
plore the  abject  misery  and  degradation  of  the  ab- 
original tribes,  it  is  not  by  the  mummery  of  a  form 
that  such  souls  can  be  redeemed,  or  such  unhappy 
natures  be  remodeled.  On  the  contrary,  their  small 
glimpses  of  civilization  offer  to  their  view  both  virtues 
and  vices  equally  unknown  before  ;  then,  left  untram- 
meled  to  choose  between  the  two,  we  see  the  baptized 
savage  follow  his  impulses  until  he  sinks  so  low  in 
the  scale  of  men,  that  his  original  degradation  stands 
out  almost  as  virtue  beside  him. 

A  holy  task  is  that  of  the  missionary,  and  bravely 
carried  out.  Let  him  still  strive  to  reclaim  the  sav- 
age, and  bring  his  soul  to  God;  but  yet  take  heed 

G 


146       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


that  the  work  be  finished,  for  I  have  seen  in  my  day 
converted  tribes  that  were  a  mockery  on  all  that  sanc- 
tifies the  missionary  work,  and  had  better,  one  would 
think,  have  eaten  each  other's  bodies  in  primeval  irre- 
sponsibility, than,  having  been  only  half  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  right,  but  fully  so  to  a  knowledge  of  all 
that  is  wrong,  have  been  left  to  grovel  in  the  vices 
that  most  debase  humanity.  How  much  more  care 
does  it  not  require  to  avert  the  steps  of  the  converted 
savage  from  crime,  than  that  of  others  of  your  flock! 
Is  he  not  naturally  more  debased,  more  prone  to  adopt 
the  broad  and  easy  path  that  ever  lies  plain  and 
palpably  before  him  ?  Can  you  take  a  young  tiger 
from  the  jungle,  and  having  caged  him,  soften  his 
natural  propensities  easily  ?  You  can  do  so  only  by 
unceasing  watchfulness  and  coercion ;  cease  these, 
and  your  tiger  is  a  tiger  again,  as  nature  asserts  her 
sway.  Somewhat  so  it  is  with  the  savage  you  allure 
from  the  freedom  of  his  hunting-ground;  you  show 
him  the  advantages  of  domestic  life,  and  the  means  of 
applying  to  his  benefit  the  soil  around  him ;  you 
adapt  to  his  comprehension  the  simple  outlines  of 
religion,  by  pointing  out  to  him  that,  to  live  in  broth- 
erhood and  amity  is  good  (and  beneficial) ;  that  to 
wage  war  and  hate  and  eat  one's  enemy  is  bad  (and 
detrimental) ;  that  a  good  Supreme  Being,  who  can 
reward  or  punish,  has  said  so,  and  that  the  evidence 
of  this  Supreme  Being  reigns,  as  even  a  savage  can 
see,  in  all  around.  The  simple  aborigine  accords  you 
his  belief;  regretfully,  perhaps,  he  leaves  his  wild 
prairie  and  the  baked  heads  of  his  enemies,  and  will 
worship  the  "Great  Spirit,"  whose  presence  the  poetry 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


147 


of  his  nature  enables  him  to  understand ;  sooner  or 
later  you  baptize  him,  and  you  have  your  savage  in 
the  first  stage  of  Christianity.  But  now  you  have  a 
savage  nature  on  your  hand ;  you  have  implanted  in- 
nocently what  with  his  impulses  may  grow  to  avarice 
if  you  leave  him  to  himself;  for  if  he  cultivates  the 
land  among  the  civilized  he  will  cheat- — if  cheat, 
wrangle — if  wrangle,  murder;  for  the  steps  to  crime 
are  rapid  in  such  a  constitution ;  but  if  he  drinks, 
the  savage  ever  becomes  too  brutalized  for  reclama- 
tion. 

In  what  does  this  fault  lie?  !Not  so  much  that  the 
man  is  so  constituted  that  he  must  thus  err,  but  that, 
like  the  tiger  I  have  used  for  illustration,  his  propen- 
sities must  be  ever  watched  and  guided.  The  con- 
verted savage  is  never  so  alienated  from  his  natural 
impulses  that  he  can  be  left — yet  he  is  left. 

If  there  is  fault  in  this,  it  is  not,  I  know,  on  the 
part  of  those  who  work ;  but  to  those  who  direct 
these  things  it  might  be  said  that  it  is  better  to  con- 
vert a  few,  and  in  reality  increase  Christ"1  s  fold,  than 
sign  a  million  with  His  holy  symbol,  yet  bring  their 
souls  no  nearer  heaven.  Yet  how  fruitlessly  one  may 
argue.  To  whom  is  the  reproach,  that  while  we  may 
add  our  mite  to  aid  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel 
abroad,  we  dare  not  relieve  gaunt  misery  in  the  street 
at  home,  for  fear  of  encouraging  systematic  mendicity ; 
as  if,  forsooth,  the  blame  of  this  belonged  by  right 
alone  to  those  who  practiced  it. 

There  are  black  missionaries  who  work  as  faith- 
fully as  white,  and  it  is  a  startling  fact  to  find  that 
many  of  these,  leaving  their  colored  brethren  at  home 


148 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


to  the  care  of  our  white  missionaries,  are  in  our  midst, 
attempting  to  alleviate,  by  God's  help,  the  misery  and 
ignorance  that  exist  in  our  great  towns ;  and  if  the 
most  festering  wounds  have  the  first  claim  upon  the 
surgeon's  skill,  the  place  of  these  black  missionaries 
is  here,  God  knows  ! 

Why  shall  it  still  be  said,  and  said  again  of  us 
who  are  not  loth  to  relieve,  that  our  aims  are  mis- 
directed from  want  of  judgment  and  from  ill-govern- 
ment? And  why  are  the  talents  and  energies  of  so 
many  churchmen,  whose  beck  and  nod  the  charitable, 
to  a  great  extent,  obey,  still  turned  to  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  abroad,  when  it  requires  but  the  open- 
ing of  a  proper  channel  at  home  to  rid  us  of  this  great 
reproach  ? 

We  may  condemn  the  love  of  political  power,  that 
in  the  main  actuated  the  Jesuits  in  their  efforts  to 
propagate  their  faith ;  but  how  much  has  not  the  love 
of  power,  equally  reprehensible,  been  a  bar  to  the 
cure  of  our  evils  at  home?  Would  the  young  and 
energetic  of  our  clergy  seek  a  field  abroad  in  which 
to  work,  with  little  reward  and  great  privation,  if  the 
field  at  home  was  open  to  them  ? 

About  the  year  1845,  some  Americans  began  to 
congregate  at  Yerba  Buena,  and  these  increased  so 
rapidly,  that  San  Francisco  was  in  fact  an  American 
settlement  before  California  became  a  territory  of  the 
United  States. 

During  the  war  that  broke  out  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  in  1846,  the  settlement  appears  to 
have  increased  in  population  and  prosperity,  although 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  151 


the  exportation  of  hides  never  seems  at  any  time  to 
have  been  of  much  importance.  In  1847,  the  popu- 
lation of  San  Francisco  amounted  to  eight  hundred, 
and  every  thing  gave  promise  that  the  country  would 
soon  be  sought  for  its  agricultural  advantages ;  the 
attention  of  the  Californian  settlers  was  directed  to- 
ward the  supposed  mineral  wealth  of  the  country,  but 
gold  was  the  last  metal  thought  of.  Quicksilver  had 
already  been  found  and  worked  at  San  Jose ;  and  the 
reported  existence  of  veins  of  copper,  silver,  coal,  and 
limestone,  caused  a  feverish  excitement  to  disturb 
this  small  community. 

The  first  discovery  of  gold  was  made  in  December, 
1847,  when  some  of  the  laborers  employed  at  Sutter's 
Mill,  near  Sacramento,  discovered  some  flakes  while 
constructing  a  ditch ;  ample  evidence  soon  existed  of 
the  truth  of  the  first  reports,  and  the  whole  popula- 
tion flocked  to  the  gold  fields,  and  shortly  afterward 
the  country  became  the  property  of  the  United  States. 
Events  now  followed  one  another  with  great  rapidity: 
adventurers  poured  in  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe, 
and  ships  arrived  in  harbor  freighted  with  merchan- 
dise which  realized  tremendous  profits. 

The  rainy  season  of  California  commences  about 
November,  and  the  winter  of  1849  was  more  than 
ordinarily  wet.  It  is  said  that  nine  inches  of  water 
fell  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  November ;  the  whole 
town,  which  had  now  become  important  in  extent,  was 
a  perfect  quagmire ;  all  rubbish  and  hard  materials 
that  could  be  procured  were  thrown  into  the  streets  to 
form  a  pathway,  but  to  no  purpose ;  for,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  soil  of  the  place,  the  mud  was  unfathomable. 


152       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


The  streets  were  impassable  to  mules,  for  there  were 
mud-holes  large  enough  to  drown  them ;  in  those 
streets  which  had  been  connected  by  means  of  a  path- 
way of  bales  of  damaged  merchandise,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  exercise  great  caution  in  crossing,  for  one  false 
step  would  precipitate  the  unwary  passenger  into  a 
slough  on  either  side,  in  which  he  stood  a  chance  of 
meeting  a  muddy  grave. 

The  amount  of  rain  that  fell  in  this  winter  was  un- 
doubtedly so  great,  that  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  no 
careful  record  was  kept  by  some  of  those  who  now 
so  eloquently  narrate  their  adventures  in  connection 
with  it. 

The  first  of  the  conflagrations  for  which  San  Fran- 
cisco has  become  so  famous,  occurred  in  December, 
1849.  By  this,  fifty  houses  and  an  immense  quantity 
of  merchandise  were  destroyed.  Another  occurred  a 
month  afterward,  causing  an  almost  equal  amount  of 
damage. 

The  great  fire  of  the  fourth  of  May,  1850,  com- 
menced at  four  in  the  morning  in  a  drinking-house, 
and  spreading  with  great  rapidity,  was  not  arrested 
until  it  had  consumed  three  hundred  houses,  and  about 
a  million  sterling  of  property. 

These  were  hard  blows  for  the  young  city  ;  but  no- 
thing daunted,  the  citizens  renewed  their  exertions, 
and  in  a  few  weeks  the  burnt  district  was  again  cov- 
ered with  buildings.  Every  effort  was  now  made  to 
secure  the  city  against  future  similar  calamities ;  many 
brick  houses  were  erected,  fire  companies  on  a  large 
scale  were  organized,  and  reservoirs  for  water  were 
constructed  in  different  parts  of  the  town.  But  on  the 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


153 


14tli  of  June,  fate  again  was  relentless,  and  a  fourth 
conflagration,  aided  by  a  high  wind,  razed  three  hun- 
dred houses  to  the  ground,  and  scattered  three  million 
dollars  of  property  to  the  winds.  It  was  while  this 
fire  was  raging  that  (as  the  reader  may  remember)  I 
arrived  at  San  Francisco :  so  here  ends  my  digest  of 
the  early  history  of  this  brave  young  city,  and  as  the 
flood-tide  is  coming  in,  I  take  a  parting  shot  at  a  little 
crab  that  has  not  taken  his  eyes  off  me  since  we  ar- 
rived, and  wonders,  I  suppose,  why  I  don't  pelt  one 
of  my  own  size,  and  gliding  off  our  mud-bank,  we 
make  sail  for  San  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  old  Crab-catcher. — Mr.  Warren. — American  Friendship. — The 
American  Press. — Education  in  America. — Americans  good  Col- 
onists.— Californian  Correspondence. 

April,  1851. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  we  found  ourselves 
among  the  shipping  that  lay  moored  in  crowds  in  front 
of  San  Francisco.  While  threading  our  way  to  the 
wharf,  we  narrowly  escaped  being  swamped  "by  one 
of  the  Stockton  river  steamboats,  which,  in  fact,  did 
graze  our  stern.  The  Yankee  fresh-water  skippers  of 
those  days  expected  every  thing  to  get  out  of  their 
way,  regardless  of  any  difficulties  that  might  prevent 
a  small  boat  doing  so ;  but  one  of  these  go-ahead 
commanders  received,  to  my  knowledge,  a  check.  A 
fisherman  of  the  bay  had  his  smack  damaged,  and 
his  trawling  apparatus  unnecessarily  carried  away  by 
one  of  the  river  boats.  His  application  to  the  captain 
for  compensation  was  met  with  the  remark,  that  the 
next  time  he  got  in  the  way  he  would  swamp  him. 
But  might  did  not  so  easily  triumph  over  right,  and 
for  this  reason.  The  small  river  boats  are  very  low 
in  the  hull,  and  as  the  steering  apparatus  leads  for- 
ward, the  helmsman  stands  prominently  (under  a 
booby  hatch)  near  the  bow  of  the  boat.  The  old 
smack,  as  usual,  was  bobbing  about  with  her  trawls 
and  lines  out,  when  down  comes  the  steamboat  one 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  155 


day,  the  fishing-boat  evidently  directly  in  her  course, 
and  showing  no  disposition  to  move.  "D — n  that 
old  crab-catcher!"  said  the  captain.  "I'll  give  him 
a  close  shave  this  time."  But  the  "old  crab-catcher," 
standing  up  in  his  boat,  leveled  a  long,  wicked-look- 
ing Kentucky  rifle,  and  "drew  a  bead"  on  the  captain, 
who,  having  taken  the  helm,  formed  a  splendid  target. 
Upon  this,  that  brave  sailor  thought  better  of  it,  and 
not  only  dispensed  with  the  close  shave,  but  "  con- 
cluded" to  allow  the  small  smack  to  bob  about  in 
peace  from  that  time  forth. 

On  landing  at  San  Francisco,  I  found  so  many 
changes  on  every  side,  that  my  knowledge  of  locality 
was  at  fault ;  wharves  extended  on  all  sides  into  the 
sea,  and  the  spot  where  I  last  had  landed  was  scarcely 
recognizable,  it  was  now  so  far  inland ;  the  steam- 
paddy  had  worked  incessantly,  and  the  front  of  the 
town  still  advanced  into  the  bay. 

The  winter  had  been  (compared  with  that  of  1849) 
a  dry  one,  and  some  of  the  streets  having  been  graded 
and  planked,  the  town  was,  under  the  worst  circum- 
stances, navigable  for  jack-boots. 

What  first  struck  me,  among  the  many  changes  of 
a  few  months,  was  that  the  inhabitants  generally  were 
less  eccentric  in  dress.  When  first  I  arrived,  the  peo- 
ple were  most  capricious  in  this  respect ;  they  wore, 
in  fact,  whatever  pleased  them,  long  hair  and  beards 
included ;  sobered  down  by  circumstances,  however, 
they  had  now  quietly  relapsed  into  the  habits  of  ordi- 
nary mortals. 

Places  of  rational  amusement  had  sprung  up,  and 
replaced  in  a  great  measure  the  gambling-saloons, 


156      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


whose  fortunes  were  rather  on  the  wane  from  over- 
competition.  There  were  clubs,  reading-rooms,  and 
a  small  theatre,  called  the  Dramatic  Museum.  This 
last  was  sadly  in  want  of  actors,  and  as  my  time 
hung  very  heavily  on  my  hands  (I  was  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  a  vessel  from  England)  I  gave  way  to  a 
vicious  propensity  that  had  long  been  my  bane,  and 
joined  the  company  as  a  volunteer.  For  about  a 
month,  under  an  assumed  name,  I  nightly  44  Used  Up" 
and  44  Jeremy  Diddlered"  my  Californian  audiences, 
who  never  having  fortunately  seen  Charles  Matthews, 
did  not,  therefore,  stone  me  to  death  for  my  presump- 
tuous attempts  to  personate  that  unrivaled  actor's 
characters. 

I  became,  at  last,  so  used  to  seeing  my  44  last  ap- 
pearance but  one"  displayed  on  the  advertising  posters, 
that  I  began  to  associate  myself  with  the  profession 
altogether,  and  to  believe  my  name  was  Warren  ;  and 
what  with  the  excitement  of  acting  in  leading  parts, 
and  the  pleasant  parties,  and  picnics,  with  our  troupe, 
I  forgot  all  about  Russian  River  Farm,  and  became  a 
very  slave  to  the  buskin. 

The  dreadful  experience  of  the  place  had  made 
people  so  nervous  respecting  fire,  that  the  sound  of 
the  fire-bell  would  cause  every  man  to  rush  to  his 
house,  and  get  ready  for  the  defense  of  his  property ; 
and  as  small  fires  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  were 
of  continual  occurrence,  there  was  scarcely  a  night 
but  the  deep-toned  bell  would  keep  the  citizens  on 
the  alert.  On  these  occasions  the  theatre  would  be 
deserted  rapidly,  while  every  other  man  would  vo- 
ciferate fire,  but  almost  immediately  the  leading  col- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  157 


umns  would  return,  with  cries  of  "all  over!"  and 
"all  out!"  and  the  theatre  would  refill,  and  the  per- 
formances proceed,  until  the  "fire-bell"  took  them  off 
again,  which  occasionally  it  would  in  ten  minutes. 

The  market  at  this  time  was  so  overstocked  with 
merchandise,  that  goods  sold  at  auction  at  less  than 
cost-price.  Ready-made  clothing,  in  particular,  was 
cheaper  in  San  Francisco  than  it  was  in  New  York 
or  London.  So  that  the  storehouses  being  every 
where  crammed  with  goods,  great  depression  in  trade 
existed.  The  city  of  San  Francisco  at  this  time 
was  in  debt  about  a  million  of  dollars,  and  the  Treas- 
ury being  empty,  scrip  was  issued  bearing  the  ruin- 
ous interest  of  thirty-six  per  cent,  per  annum.  But 
this  state  of  affairs  was  remedied  by  funding  the  debt, 
and  issuing  bonds  payable  in  twenty  years,  bearing 
interest  at  ten  per  cent.  The  citizens  co-operated  in 
this  movement,  and  submitted  to  a  heavy  tax,  and 
thus,  in  spite  of  repeated  conflagrations  following  on  a 
state  of  apparently  hopeless  bankruptcy,  the  energy 
of  the  San  Franciscans  not  only  enabled  the  muni- 
cipality to  redeem  annually  a  portion  of  their  bonds, 
but  placed  the  credit  of  the  city  on  a  firm  and  secure 
basis. 

There  were  seven  or  eight  churches  already  in  San 
Francisco,  all  of  different  denominations — these  were 
well  attended  on  Sundays,  but  the  price  of  pews  was 
very  exorbitant,  reaching  as  high  sometimes  as  ten 
pounds  a  month.  Some  of  these  churches  were  built 
entirely  in  a  spirit  of  speculation ;  and  on  asking  an 
acquaintance  once  what  security  he  had  for  some 
money  he  had  lent,  he  told  me,  so  many  shares  in 


158      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


  Church ;  and  the  same  building  was  afterward 

sold,  I  think,  by  auction,  to  satisfy  its  creditors. 
Now  that  ladies  begin  to  flock  into  California  so  rap- 
idly, the  churches  are  crammed  to  overflowing  on  a 
Sunday.  The  Americans  are  rather  strict  observers 
of  congregational  worship,  which  has  this  drawback, 
however,  that  it  here  imposes  the  necessity  of  so 
many  becoming  hypocrites  on  the  Sabbath  ;  for  as  re-' 
gards  the  amount  of  religious  feeling  that  exists  at 
this  time,  one  can  neither  judge  of  it  by  the  attend- 
ance or  the  absence  of  the  people  from  public  wor- 
ship. But  I  will  say  this  for  them,  that  as  a  nation 
they  are  most  charitable,  and  that  they  are  true  friends 
to  one  another  in  adversity ;  once  your  friend,  the 
American  will  share  all  he  has  with  you,  and  risk 
his  life  in  defense  of  your  honor  and  name — more, 
he  will  not  even  permit  merited  censure  to  be  passed 
upon  you  in  his  presence ;  and  however  suspicious  of 
others  worldly  contact  may  have  made  him,  he  will 
repose  his  confidence  in  you  like  a  child.  And  so 
common  are  these  friendships,  that  the  true  gener- 
osity which  cements  them  forms  a  prominent  feature 
of  the  American  character ;  but  whether  it  springs 
from  deep  religious  feeling  or  not  is  a  question  I  do 
not  care  to  argue.  A  great  portion  of  the  working- 
classes  of  America  are  Methodists,  or  of  somewhat 
similar  persuasions ;  they  have  their  camp-meetings, 
read  their  Bible  very  generally,  are  given  to  psalm- 
singing,  and  have  the  appearance  of  being  a  religious 
people. 

I  attended  one  of  these  camp-meetings.  My  old 
friend  of  the  English  barque,  who  wished  to  "  rip  up 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  159 


the  cook,"  was  officiating  with  "tears  in  his  eyes." 
There  was  a  great  deal  of  excited  praying;  but  the 
greater  proportion  of  the  people  seemed  to  have  come 
out  for  any  purpose  but  that  of  worship  ;  in  fact,  the 
scene  was  very  lively,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
weeping  priest,  it  would  have  been  a  merry  picnic. 
******** 

There  are  now  seven  daily  papers  at  San  Francisco, 
and  each  mining  town  of  importance  in  the  country 
publishes  its  weekly  sheet.  If  the  Americans  were 
not  thirsty  people  for  news,  warm  party  politicians, 
and  all  able  to  read,  so  great  a  number  of  periodicals 
could  never  be  supported. 

There  is  an  independence  about  American  journal- 
ism in  strict  accordance  with  the  character  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  country,  but  which,  in  my  opinion, 
detracts  greatly  from  the  value  of  the  press.  As,  for 
instance,  many  journals  of  wide  circulation,  conducted 
by  men  of  ability,  enforce  injudicious  opinions  that 
not  only  closely  affect  the  vital  interests  of  the  state, 
but,  to  a  great  extent,  the  passions  of  the  people. 
For  this  reason  the  American  press  has  not  so  much 
weight  with  the  highest  class  of  Americans,  and  there 
is  no  leading  journal  of  sufficient  influence  to  direct 
and  admo7iish  them ;  or  which,  from  its  impartiality 
and  justness,  can  give  a  healthy  tone  to  the  thou- 
sands of  minnows  that  follow  in  its  track — none,  in 
fact,  that  occupies  the  position  of  the  "  Times"  with 
us. 

The  Americans  are  prone  to  throw  in  our  teeth 
that  we  are  led  by  the  "  Times,"  and  form  no  opinion 
for  ourselves  ;  but  they  forget  that  our  faith  in  the 


160       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


practical  essays  of  that  journal  is  not  the  result  of  a 
blind  adherence  to  custom,  but  of  the  confidence  that, 
among  the  rational,  will  ever  cling  to  opinions  that 
are  seldom  proved,  under  the  strongest  test,  to  be 
fallacious.  Socially,  the  "  Times"  is  our  expounder 
and  monitor;  and  if,  in  this  respect,  it  leads  us,  it 
leads  us  by  conviction,  as  we  should  be  led ;  and 
when  you  hear  a  man  say  that  "he  doesn't  care 
what  the  '  Times'  says  on  this  or  that  subject," 
he  is  generally  one  not  open  to  conviction,  or  not 
sufficiently  noble  to  surrender  to  it  his  own  false 
impressions.  In  political  matters  the  "  Times"  may 
be  strategical,  as  great  statesmen  have  been. 

The  press  of  England  has  not  hitherto  been  widely 
disseminated  among  the  working  classes  (fault  we 
will  say  of  their  narrow  means  and  education),  nor, 
were  it  so,  would  they,  as  in  America,  be  so  influ- 
enced politically  by  its  tone ;  but  that  which  is  dis- 
seminated either  takes  its  tone  from  the  64  Times,"  so 
far  as  to  echo  weekly  the  strictures  which  that  journal 
passes  on  our  home  abuses,  or  otherwise  is  conducted 
in  the  same  spirit.  Therefore  there  is  an  unanimity 
of  opinion  in  the  English  press,  and  as  its  expositions 
are  by  no  means  flattering,  as  a  general  rule,  to  the 
public,  and  meet  no  contradiction,  we  may  presume, 
from  that  fact  alone,  that  the  principles  it  inculcates 
on  these  matters  are  sound.  Putting  aside  the  slave 
question,  the  great  proportion  of  the  American  press 
by  no  means  devotes  itself  to  the  exposure  of  abuses. 
In  the  first  place,  the  Americans  are  not  fond  of  hav- 
ing their  faults  pointed  out,  and  an  editor  is  naturally 
anxious  to  place  before  his  readers  only  what  is  pala- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


161 


table.  Therefore  the  press  declines  to  admonish,  and 
following  no  just  and  truthful  leader,  each  provincial 
journal  disseminates  its  own  doctrine,  whatever  that 
may  be ;  and  thus,  in  a  country  where  all  read,  the 
press  exercises  its  power  to  excite  the  passions,  but 
seldom  to  control  them.  For  instance,  at  the  time 
I  write  the  press  of  California  upholds  strongly  the 
doctrine  of  forcible  annexation ;  some  of  these  jour- 
nals inform  the  public  (many  of  whom,  by  the  way, 
are  ripe  for  novel  enterprise)  that  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands must  become  subject  to  the  United  States ', 
while  the  more  ambitious  point  to  Mexico  on  one 
side,  and  British  Oregon  on  the  other — undecided 
only  which  first  should  bow  to  American  rule.  The 
higher  classes,  it  will  be  said,  disregard  these  "  filli- 
bustering"  doctrines ;  but  of  the  200,000  souls  in 
California,  how  large  a  proportion  does  not  foster 
them  until  a  spirit  is  diffused  that  can  never  be 
countenanced  even  by  the  warmest  admirers  of  the 
"Munro  Doctrine." 

For,  although  one  may  admit  it  to  be  probable  that 
in  time  the  American  people  will  add  to  their  domin- 
ions the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the  sickly  independ- 
encies of  South  America,  they  will  do  so,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  only  as  becomes  a  great  nation,  and  not  through 
piracy  or  intimidation.  In  fact,  to  sum  up,  I  think 
a  great  part  of  the  press  of  the  United  States  studies 
the  foibles  of  the  people  instead  of  correcting  them, 
when  they  most  need  correction,  which  leads  to  this 
result,  that  the  Americans  hear  of  their  faults  through 
the  press  of  other  countries,  and  attribute  those  strict- 
ures to  a  feeling  of  injustice  and  envy. 


162 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


An  American  gentleman  of  great  intelligence  as- 
sured me  that  the  good  feeling  which  now  exists  (and 
I  trust  ever  will)  between  the  two  countries,  would 
have  been  induced  long  previous  had  the  "  Times"  (I 
use  his  own  expression)  been  less  silent  on  the  subject 
of  America. 

"  What,"  he  asked,  "  did  your  leading  journal  ever 
say  in  our  favor  fifteen  years  ago,  when  this  country 
was  making  the  most  unexampled  strides  toward 
prosperity  ?  Were  we  ever  written  of  but  with  an 
open  allusion  to  the  Pennsylvanian  debt  ?  Was  any 
thing  connected  with  us  thought  worthy  of  record  but 
our  steamboat  explosions  and  Lynch  law  ? 

There  is  great  truth  in  this — the  press  of  Europe 
has  treated  America  until  latterly  with  silence  if  not 
contempt ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Americans, 
who  are  the  first  to  feel  a  slight,  should  retain  some 
bitterness  on  this  score. 

But  this  has  passed  away;  the  superficial  travels 
of  prejudiced  Englishmen  (and  women)  no  longer  reg- 
ulate our  judgment  of  this  country,  which,  indeed, 
even  if  their  views  were  correct,  has  long  outgrown, 
in  its  rapid  prosperity,  the  features  they  depicted. 

The  American  newspapers  are  conducted  with  tal- 
ent, and  warmly  encourage  and  keep  alive  the  spirit 
of  energy  and  progress  from  which  the  country's 
greatness  springs  ;  their  moral  tone  generally  is  good, 
and  the  amount  of  useful  information  they  dissemi- 
nate renders  them  of  great  value  to  the  greater  pro- 
portion of  readers ;  but  it  is  to  be  deplored  that  so 
many  are  connected  with  the  press  whose  feelings 
prompt  them  to  keep  alive  a  jealousy  and  hatred  of 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  163 


the  mother  country.  The  best  of  us  need  at  times  to 
have  the  scales  removed  from  our  eyes,  and  the  fal- 
lacies we  hug  so  stubbornly  must  be  made  to  fall  be- 
fore conviction.  Therefore,  with  so  large  a  mass  of 
readers  of  the  lower  class  dependent  almost  on  the 
press  for  information  ;  among  a  people  of  warm  blood 
and  quick  impulses,  but  a  people  whom  it  is  as  easy 
to  mould  to  think  calmly  and  dispassionately  as  to 
inflame  and  excite  until  the  judgment  falls  before  the 
power  of  doctrines  flattering  to  national  vanity ;  is  it 
not  to  be  lamented  that  that  portion  of  the  press  to 
which  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  country  looks  natu- 
rally for  guidance  and  advice,  should  in  few  instances 
be  directed  by  a  wise  and  sound  policy,  principally 
from  the  absence  of  leading  journals  sufficiently  cour- 
ageous to  chastise  ? 

******** 

There  is  nothing  more  pleasant  than  to  revert  to 
the  good  traits  of  a  country,  particularly  after  having 
recorded  what  in  one's  judgment  appears  an  infirmity. 
I  allude,  therefore,  with  pleasure  to  the  educational 
system  of  the  Americans,  honorable  as  it  is  to  the 
good  feeling  of  the  country,  although  it  must  be  re- 
membered I  am  speaking  of  the  Americans  as  colo- 
nists. The  base  of  the  American  system  of  education 
is  simply  to  educate  every  body,  and  to  develop  the 
natural  faculties  ;  thus  the  way  is  opened  to  all  to 
raise  themselves,  by  assiduity  and  talent,  to  independ- 
ence and  mayhap  renown.  How  is  it  that  great  and 
wise  countries  in  the  matter  of  education  discuss  so 
much  and  so  idly  the  manner  of  the  doing;  leaving 
the  patient  unrelieved  while  the  wise  doctors  disagree  ? 


164      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

Or  how  is  it  that  it  requires  a  Bishop  and  his  staff  to 
plant  a  school  in  certain  colonies,  and  why  is  so  much 
fuss  made  about  the  matter  when  the  Bishop  comes 
home  and  informs  the  public — as  bishops  always  do 
at  some  meeting  or  other — of  the  glorious  success  that 
has  attended  his  labors,  and  how  he  has  called  to- 
gether twenty- five  small  Carribean  children  in  a  wood- 
en building  forty  feet  by  twelve,  as  if  a  sacrifice  had 
been  offered  up  to  Heaven,  the  incense  of  which  should 
diffuse  itself  gratefully  over  the  whole  land  ? 

Now  if  one  turns  to  the  accounts  of  San  Francisco 
in  1848,  they  will  be  found  to  convey  a  tolerably 
truthful  account  of  the  society  of  that  then  city  of 
tents.  It  was  scarcely  a  fortuitous  commencement 
for  a  colony,  that  its  earlier  inhabitants  were  for  the 
most  part  maddened  to  excess  by  the  easy  acquisition 
of  wealth ;  and  that,  under  the  influence  of  an  all- 
absorbing  pursuit  (such  as  few  of  us,  I  venture  to  say, 
could  under  such  circumstances  entirely  have  resisted), 
the  worst  passions  were  exercised  without  control,  and 
selfishness,  as  is  natural,  reigned  paramount ;  what 
idea  of  the  intellectual  or  moral  cultivation  of  the 
young  would  be  expected  to  intrude  itself  on  the 
thoughts  of  a  community  occupied  solely  in  the  pur- 
suit of  selfish  gratifications  ? 

Yet  in  this  year  a  public  school  was  opened  in  San 
Francisco  supported  by  the  people,  and  this  school 
was  shortly  placed  in  the  charge  of  an  intelligent 
clergyman.  What  better  illustration  can  we  find  in 
proof  that  the  Americans  stand  out  in  strong  colors 
on  this  point  ?  what  better  proof  that  they  are  good 
colonists,  when  under  such  adverse  circumstances,  in 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS  165 


the  midst  of  riot,  dissipation,  and  ungodliness,  the 
hrst  and  only  approach  to  a  sense  of  responsibility 
was  shown  in  a  fostering  care  of  the  young  and  help- 
less children  not  their  own. 

There  were  no  bishops  here,  no  staff,  nor  was  the 
school  organized  by  reverend  men ;  it  owed  its  foun- 
dation and  support  to  the  one  sense  of  duty  that  no 
circumstances  could  erase  from  the  American  mind ; 
and  in  this  earnest  desire  to  open  to  all  the  path  to 
future  prosperity,  the  grand  principle  of  equality  is 
better  carried  out  than  by  any  other  feature  of  the 
people  of  America.  If  this  feeling  exists,  as  I  believe, 
throughout  the  United  States,  what  stronger  founda- 
tion-stone, speaking  in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  can 
a  people  naturally  intelligent  lay  down  as  a  basis  for 
increased  prosperity  ?  for,  putting  aside  religion,  with 
this  education  is  inculcated  self-reliance ;  self-reliance 
in  a  nation  leads  to  mutual  support  and  unity,  and  this 
in  colonists  overcomes  difficulties  apparently  insur- 
mountable, as  ants  united  move  the  dead  body  of  a 
lizard  from  the  doorway  of  their  home,  or  sailors  par- 
buckle a  gun  up  some  apparently  impracticable  mount- 
ain. 

The  proportion  of  children  in  California  was  natur- 
ally small  as  compared  with  the  population,  yet  I  find 
that  in  1853  the  City  of  San  Francisco  expended  the 
monthly  sum  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  on 
its  schools,  in  which  were  educated  fourteen  hundred 
children ;  and  excellent  institutions  now  exist  there, 
also,  for  the  relief  of  orphans  and  the  sick  and  destitute. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  city  is  already  deeply 
in  debt,  and  that  the  population  are  averse  to  taxes, 


166 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


which  render  the  maintenance  of  these  establishments 
a  "burden. 

The  book  stores  of  San  Francisco  drive  a  thriving 
trade  after  the  arrival  of  each  mail,  but  the  importa- 
tions consist  for  the  most  part  of  novels,  which  are 
greedily  bought  up,  and  find  a  ready  sale  in  the  min- 
ing regions. 

Apparently,  every  Californian  can  read,  and  judg- 
ing from  the  fact  that  the  mails  take  an  average  of  fifty 
thousand  letters  to  the  United  States  every  fortnight, 
we  may  presume  that  there  are  few  among  them  that 
can  not  write. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Long  Wharf. — Clipper  Ships. — Chinese  Emigrants. — The  May  Fire. 
— An  exciting  Scene. — Iron  Houses. — Vallejo. — The  Coyote. — 
Wild  Geese. 

May,  1851. 

The  Central  Wharf  of  San  Francisco,  which  is  near- 
ly a  mile  in  length,  is  for  some  distance  occupied  on 
either  side  by  Jew  slopsellers ;  and,  as  these  indefa- 
tigable gentlemen  insist  all  over  the  world  upon  ex- 
posing their  wares  outside  their  shops,  the  first  glance 
down  Central  Wharf  impresses  you  with  the  idea  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  district  have  hung  their  clothes 
out  to  dry  after  a  shower  of  rain.  Scattered  among 
the  Jew  shops  are  markets  for  vegetables  and  poultry, 
fishmongers,  candy-sellers  (the  Long  Wharfers  are 
very  fond  of  sugar-plums),  gambling-houses  of  the 
worst  repute,  and  drinking-shops  innumerable.  Being 
narrow  and  crowded,  and  rail  of  loaded  drays,  drunken 
sailors,  empty  packing-cases,  run-away  horses,  rotten 
cabbages,  excited  steamboat  runners,  stinking  fish, 
Chinese  porters,  gaping  strangers,  and  large  holes  in 
the  planks,  through  which  you  may  perceive  the  water, 
it  is  best  to  be  careful  in  walking  down  Long  Wharf, 
and  to  turn  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left. 

This  busy  street  terminates  at  the  city  front ;  and 
from  thence  the  wharf,  which  extends  for  half  a  mile 
into  the  sea,  is  flanked  on  either  side  by  ships  dis- 
charging their  cargoes  with  great  order  and  rapidity. 


168      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Here  may  be  seen  a  fleet  of  those  clippers  to  which 
the  Californian  trade  gave  rise.  The  "Queen  of  the 
Clippers"  is  one  of  the  finest  and  largest  of  these 
ships,  and  is  a  beautiful  model ;  she  is  extremely 
sharp  at  either  end,  and,  "  bows  on,"  she  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  wedge.  Her  accommodations  are  as 
perfect  as  those  of  a  first-class  ocean  steamer,  and  are 
as  handsomely  decorated ;  and,  as  it  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark that  great  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  com- 
fort of  the  crew,  the  sooner  some  of  our  shipowners 
copy  that  part  of  her  construction  the  better.  Nor 
should  they  overlook  any  longer  that  the  Americans 
have  long  economized  in  ship  labor  very  materially 
by  the  use  of  patent  blocks,  patent  trusses,  and  more 
particularly  in  patent  steering-gear. 

It  gives  cause  for  reflection  to  observe  how,  on 
board  these  mammoth  clippers,  one  man,  comfortably 
protected  from,  the  weather  by  a  wheel-house,  can 
steer  the  ship  with  ease  in  any  weather,  and  to  recall 
recollections  of  big  English  ships  beating  up  against 
the  monsoon,  with  three  and  even  four  men  at  the 
helm,  tugging  to  get  it  up,  or  pulley-hauling  to  get 
it  down,  exposed  on  the  deck  in  heavy  sou'-westers 
and  painted  canvas  frocks,  while  their  faces  are  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  salt  spray  that  the  wind  sends  drifting 
along  the  deck.  Yet  comparatively  few  of  our  mer- 
chant-vessel owners  have  availed  themselves  of  these 
improvements.  Scotland,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned, 
has  most  distinguished  herself  in  the  production  of 
clippers,  and  the  small  class,  similar  to  the  "Marco 
Polo"  and  "  Stornoway"  stand  first  as  specimens  of 
mercantile  naval  architecture. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  169 

The  building  of  clippers,  if  not  originated  by,  was 
encouraged  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  for 
the  valuable  market  that  was  so  shortly  afterward 
opened  to  the  United  States  afforded  a  field  for  the 
employment  of  ships  that  could  perform  a  journey 
round  the  Horn  in  a  space  of  time  that  would  enable 
them  to  land  a  cargo,  not  only  clean  and  in  good  or- 
der, but  with  a  certain  degree  of  regularity  as  regard- 
ed time.  The  ships  that  have  sailed  from  English 
ports  for  San  Francisco  have  been  selected  from  a 
particularly  inferior  class  of  tubs,  principally  from  the 
erroneous  supposition  that  any  thing  was  good  enough 
for  the  diggings.  Then  observe  the  mistake !  The 
expensive,  dashing  clipper  leaves  New  York,  and, 
after  a  three  months'  passage,  lands  her  cargo  clean 
and  dry  in  San  Francisco  (where  the  sale  of  packages 
depends  very  much  on  their  outward  as  well  as  in- 
ternal appearance)  ;  the  English  ship,  which  false 
economy  has  picked  from  about  the  worst  in  dock, 
after  a  passage  of  from  eight  to  ten  months,  arrives 
in  San  Francisco,  with  her  cargo.  The  market  has 
not  only  gone  by  for  the  articles  she  brings,  but  these, 
from  long  confinement,  and  her  unseaworthy  qualities, 
are  landed  in  such  an  unprepossessing  state  as  to  be 
almost  unsalable.  Nor  is  this  all — the  clipper  ship 
having  discharged,  sails  for  China,  and  takes  home 
the  first  teas  at  a  high  rate  of  freight^  discharges  at 
London,  and  returns  again  to  New  York,  full;  hav- 
ing accomplished  a  rapid  voyage  round  the  world, 
and,  in  all  probability,  cleared  a  large  portion  of  her 
first  cost  in  her  first  voyage.  But  our  English  clun- 
bungy  can  find  no  cargo  to  take  home  from  San 

H 


170      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Francisco,  there  being  no  export ;  she  knows  better 
than  to  present  herself  in  China  as  a  candidate  for 
teas  ;  there  is  little  chance  of  her  getting  guano,  so  she 
either  goes  home  empty  at  a  great  expense,  or,  as  is 
more  often  the  case,  is  knocked  down  by  auction  for 
less  than  her  value,  and  is  converted  into  a  floating 
store-ship.* 

It  was  said,  I  remember,  when  these  clippers  first 
attracted  attention,  and  before  Australia  had  been 
found  to  be  auriferous,  that  we  had  no  field  for  the 
employment  of  such  vessels,  and  that  our  own  44  A  1 
for  thirteen-year"  ships  were  better  adapted  for  our 
trade ;  that  they  were  stronger  and  more  lasting. 
Where  we  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  ship-transport,  as  for 
many  years  in  some  places  we  have  done,  the  argu- 
ment of  "let  well  alone"  is  excellently  prudent. 

That  our  vessels  are  strong  no  one  will  deny  who 
ever  saw  a  teak-built  ship  with  her  heavy  beams  and 
prodigious  wooden  knees;  that  they  are  lasting,  fol- 
lows as  a  matter  of  course ;  but  this  very  qualification 
is  at  this  moment  our  drawback  to  improvement.  We 
are  something  like  a  man  who  has  determined  not  to 
get  a  suit  of  clothes  adapted  for  the  dog-days  until  he 
has  worn  out  his  old  winter  garments,  and  has  been 
unfortunate  enough  to  have  had  these  made  of  that 
imperishable  article  known  as  corduroy. 

It  is  plain  enough  that  we  shall  have  comparatively 
few  clipper  ships  until  our  enormous  mercantile  navy 
is  worn  out ;  and  all  we  have  now  to  regret  is  the 
stubbornness  of  that  heart  of  oak  whose  durability 
we  have  been  wont  to  laud  in  speech  and  song.  In 
*  This  fact  alone  proves  the  truth  of  my  remarks. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


171 


the  mean  time,  unless  Aberdeen  and  other  ports  work 
cheerily,  the  Californian  clippers  will  bid  for  the  car- 
riage of  the  teas,  and  take  the  bread  literally  from 
between  our  teeth ;  and,  what  is  still  more  galling, 
the  Yankee  clippers  will  take  our  Australian  trade,  if 
they  have  not  already  done  so.  We  have  a  bold  com- 
petitor on  the  waters  now ;  and  I  regret  to  see  that, 
almost  at  the  moment  that  the  projected  Panama  and 
Sydney  steam-line  is  withdrawn  for  want  of  govern- 
ment support,  measures  are  being  taken  by  the  Amer- 
ican government  to  connect  San  Francisco  and  China, 
and  thus  complete  the  first  steam  -  communication 
round  the  world ;  while  the  "  Sovereign  of  the  Seas" 
and  "  Golden  Age"  are  conveying  our  emigrants  from 
Liverpool  to  Australia.  On  the  other  hand,  the  spirit 
of  speculation  in  building  clipper  ships  in  America 
has  been  so  far  overdone  as  to  cause  many  of  them  to 
be  too  hastily  "run  up,"  and  a  few  of  these  have  ar- 
rived in  San  Francisco,  and  in  London,  much  strained 
and  with  damaged  cargoes. 

******** 
The  Chinese  have  emigrated  to  California  in  great 
numbers.  Those  in  San  Francisco  are  mostly  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  supply  their  coun- 
trymen at  the  mines  with  necessaries.  There  has 
been  great  outcry  in  the  gold  regions  here  respecting 
the  rapidly-increasing  numbers  of  the  Chinese  miners, 
and  it  was  proposed  forcibly  to  stop  their  immigra- 
tion ;  it  was  argued,  rather  dog-in-the-mangerly,  that 
they  collected  vast  quantities  of  gold  from  the  soil 
that  oi  right  belonged  to  the  Americans  only,  and  that 
they  carried  their  gold-dust  to  their  own  country  to 


172 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


spend.  The  last  objection  had  some  justice  in  it ; 
for  undoubtedly  it  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  a  young 
colony  to  encourage  the  immigration  of  a  class  of 
people  who  bring  their  own  rice  with  them,  and  im- 
poverish the  auriferous  soil  without  leaving  a  "pice" 
behind  them  for  the  permanent  improvement  of  the 
country. 

I  believe  there  are  few  men  who  have  been  thrown 
much  among  the  Chinese,  who  believe  that  many 
honest  ones  can  be  found  among  them ;  old  Wham- 
poa  of  Singapore,  who  gives  Champagne  dinners  in  a 
most  orthodox  manner,  may  be  one ;  but  I  confess, 
for  my  part,  that  from  the  Emperor  down  to  the  fel- 
low in  the  blue  shirt  who  begs  in  Piccadilly,  and 
looks  as  if  butter  wouldn't  melt  in  his  mouth,  I  don't 
believe  in  them.  They  are  a  people  whose  natural 
propensities  lead  them  to  cheat,  and  whose  natural 
cunning  aids  this  object  most  materially. 

A  short  time  ago  it  was  discovered  that  a  clique 
existed  in  San  Francisco  composed  of  a  few  of  the 
wealthiest  Chinese,  and  that  these  self-constituted 
mandarins  exercised  so  much  influence  over  the  Chi- 
nese population  of  the  country  as  to  subject  them  to 
fines  and  bastinado,  and  they  even  went  to  the  length 
of  shipping  some  of  them  back  to  their  own  country ; 
this,  however,  having  been  brought  to  light  by  the 
police,  was  temporarily  checked,  as  these  punish- 
ments were  applied  only  for  the  purpose  of  extortion. 

The  Chinese  themselves  are  so  used  to  this  kind  ot 
despotic  rule,  that  they  made  no  effort  to  resist  it, 
even  when  it  was  assumed  by  those  not  in  authority ; 
but  they  behaved  better  under  the  infliction  of  fines 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  173 

than  they  would  otherwise  have  done,  and,  indeed,  I 
am  puzzled  to  know  what  such  a  race  would  become, 
with  their  natural  cunning,  under  a  freer  government 
than  that  they  enjoy. 

******** 
On  the  3d  of  May,  at  eleven  in  the  evening,  the 
hre-bell  again  startled  us ;  but  on  this  occasion  the 
first  glance  at  the  lurid  glare  and  heavy  mass  of 
smoke  that  rolled  toward  the  bay  evidenced  that  the 
fire  had  already  a  firm  grip  on  the  city.  The  wind 
was  unusually  high,  and  the  flames  spread  in  a  broad 
sheet  over  the  town.  All  efforts  to  arrest  them  were 
useless ;  houses  were  blown  up  and  torn  down  in 
attempts  to  cut  off  communication ;  but  the  engines 
were  driven  back  step  by  step,  while  some  of  the 
brave  firemen  fell  victims  to  their  determined  opposi- 
tion. As  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale,  the  fire  be- 
came beyond  control ;  the  brick  buildings  in  Mont- 
gomery Street  crumbled  before  it ;  and  before  it  was 
arrested,  over  one  thousand  houses,  many  of  which 
were  filled  with  merchandise,  were  left  in  ashes. 
Many  lives  were  lost,  and  the  amount  of  property 
destroyed  was  estimated  at  two  millions  and  a  half 
sterling. 

No  conception  can  be  formed  of  the  grandeur  of 
the  scene ;  for  at  one  time  the  burning  district  was 
covered  by  one  vast  sheet  of  flame  that  extended  half 
a  mile  in  length.  But  when  the  excitement  of  such  a 
night  as  this  has  passed  by,  one  scarcely  can  recall 
the  scene.  The  memory  is  confused  in  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  shouts  of  the  excited  populace — the  crash 
of  falling  timbers — the  yells  of  the  burnt  and  injured 


174      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


— the  clank  of  the  fire-brakes — the  hoarse  orders  de- 
livered through  speaking-trumpets — maddened  horses 
released  from  burning  livery-stables  plunging  through 
the  streets — helpless  patients  being  carried  from  some 
hospital,  and  dying  on  the  spot,  as  the  swaying  crowd, 
forced  back  by  the  flames,  tramples  all  before  it — ex- 
plosions of  houses  blown  up  by  gunpowder — showers 
of  burning  splinters  that  fall  around  on  every  side — 
the  thunder  of  brick  buildings  as  they  fall  into  a  heap 
of  ruin — and  the  blinding  glare  of  ignited  spirits. 
Amidst  the  heat  that  scorches,  let  you  go  where  you 
will — smoke  that  strikes  the  eyes  as  if  they  had  been 
pricked  by  needles — water  that,  thrown  off  the  heat- 
ed walls,  falls  on  you  in  a  shower  of  scalding  steam 
— you  throw  your  coat  away  and  help  to  work  the 
engine-brakes,  as  calls  are  made  for  more  men. 

At  daylight  you  plod  home,  half-blind,  half-drown- 
ed, half-scorched,  half-stunned,  and  quite  bewilder- 
ed ;  and  from  that  time  you  never  care  to  recall  one- 
half  of  the  horrors  you  have  witnessed  on  the  night 
of  the  conflagration  of  the  3d  of  May. 

The  Dramatic  Museum  was  "burnt  out"  on  this 
occasion ;  and  about  the  same  time  the  ship  I  had 
awaited  arrived.  I  had  expected  to  receive  an  iron 
house  in  her,  but  as  this  tenement  (which  I  had  taken 
great  pains  to  have  constructed  in  England)  was  land- 
ed in  the  shape  of  several  bundles  of  bent  and  rusty 
iron  plates,  and  irrecognizable  rotten  planks,  I  de- 
serted the  property,  and  allowed  the  owners  of  the 
wharf  to  throw  it  overboard,  which  they  eventually 
did  after  six  months'  reflection. 

Iron  houses,  under  most  circumstances,  are  a  fail- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  175 


lire,  and  I  write  from  experience  in  the  matter.  I 
have  sat  in  churches  made  of  iron,  and  have  been 
glad  to  get  out  of  them  for  that  reason.  I  have 
thrown  down  my  billiard-cue  in  disgust  in  iron  club- 
houses, have  paid  my  bill  incontinently  and  left  iron 
hotels,  and  have  lived  in  misery  in  an  iron  shooting- 
box  of  my  own,  which  was  supposed  to  be  very  com- 
plete. 

I  could  live  comfortably  at  all  times  in  my  little 
log-hut  at  the  "farm,"  but  never  could  I  endure  my- 
self inside  my  iron  house.  When  the  sun  shone  it 
was  too  hot ;  as  night  advanced  it  cooled  too  sudden- 
ly, and  at  daylight  I  shivered.  When  it  was  too 
warm,  the  hot  iron,  with  its  anti-corrosive  paint,  emit- 
ted a  sickening  smell ;  and  when  the  rain  came  down 
on  the  roof  it  sounded  like  a  shower  of  small  shot.* 
I  lined  it  with  wood  throughout ;  that  is  to  say,  I 
built  a  wooden  house  inside  my  iron  one,  and  then  it 
was  only  bearable.  But  it  would  have  been  cheaper, 
it  seemed  to  me,  to  have  built  the  wooden  house  first, 
and  then  have  put  the  iron  on  if  it  was  wanted,  which 
it  was  not. 

In  this  age,  when  so  many  of  our  countrymen  are 
emigrating,  it  becomes  almost  the  duty  of  a  traveler 
to  recount  any  experience  that  may  tend  to  the  bene- 
fit of  those  who  go  after  him ;  and,  therefore,  I  trust 
that  in  remarks  similar  to  the  foregoing,  which  may 
or  may  not  affect  a  peculiar  branch  of  trade,  I  may 
be  exonorated  from  any  other  intention  than  that  of 
benefiting  others  by  my  experience.    I  have  seen  so 

*  The  intelligent  reader  will  observe  that  this  was  not  the  same 
house  that  was  thrown  overboard. 


176       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

many  metal  and  wooden  houses  thrown  away  (I  have 
seen  in  one  heap  of  rubbish  the  value  of  ten  thousand 
pounds),  that  I  would  recommend  to  the  emigrant  of 
moderate  means  not  to  purchase  either  the  one  or  the 
other.  If  new  gold  fields  are  discovered,  as  most 
probably  they  will  be,  and  reports  are  rife  of  house- 
room  commanding  enormous  prices  there,  never  for 
all  that  let  him  take  his  shell  out,  snail-like,  on  his 
back;  let  him  take  the  money  that  would  buy  the 
house — the  cash  will  be  the  scarcest  article  there,  and 
will  find  him  house-room  and  a  profit  too.  Perhaps 
nowhere  has  my  argument  been  better  proved  than 
in  California.  Large  numbers  of  iron  houses  were 
shipped  to  that  country  when  first  reports  arrived  of 
the  scarcity  of  building  materials.  Had  they  been 
capable  of  resisting  fire  they  would  perhaps  have 
been  less  generally  condemned ;  but  of  those  that  were 
erected,  not  only  did  the  thin  corrugated  houses  first 
expand  and  then  collapse,  and  tumble  down  with 
astonishing  rapidity  before  the  flames,  but  in  the  fire 
I  have  just  recorded  the  American  iron  house  of 
Taeffe  and  M'Cahill,  of  which  the  plates  were  nearly 
an  inch  in  thickness,  and  the  castings  of  apparently 
unnecessary  weight,  collapsed  like  a  preserved-meat 
can,  and  destroyed  six  persons,  who,  believing  it  to 
be  fire-proof,  remained  inside.  And,  in  connection 
with  this  subject,  it  is  worthy  of  mention  that  when 
these  houses  arrived  in  California  there  was  no  one  to 
be  found  who  could  put  them  together ;  not  but  that 
the  method  is  very  simple,  but  simple  things,  as  we 
all  know,  present  great  difficulties  at  times  in  then- 
solution. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  177 


A  friend  of  mine  employed  a  man  for  a  long  time 
at  four  pounds  a  day,  merely  to  superintend  the  erec- 
tion of  an  iron  hotel ;  it  was  completed  at  last,  and 
although  it  had  a  somewhat  lopsided  appearance,  it 
looked  pretty  well  under  the  influence  of  light-green 
paint;  but  the  fire  came,  and  it  "caved  in,"  as  the 
Americans  say, 

This  discussion  on  iron  buildings  would  have  found 
no  place  here,  had  not  these  cheerless  tenements  been 
connected  with  a  speculation  into  which  I  was  at  this 
time  induced  to  enter :  nor  would  the  speculation  have 
been  alluded  to,  particularly  as  it  turned  out  a  failure, 
were  it  not  again  inseparably  connected  with  a  pecul- 
iar feature  of  the  country. 

It  appeared  that  the  State  was  looking  about  at  this 
time  for  a  site  on  which  to  erect  a  capital,  where,  free 
from  the  busy  hum  of  men,  the  representatives  of  the 
people  might  meet  and  do  their  country's  work.  Upon 
the  condition  that  General  Vallejo  would  expend  a 
large  amount  in  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  a  part 
of  this  gentleman's  property  was  selected  by  the  then 
Governor  as  the  "seat  of  government,"  and  upon  that, 
a  few  scrubby-looking  hills  that  bordered  on  the  bay 
were  surveyed  and  staked  off,  and  there  was  your 
town  of  "Vallejo." 

About  this  time  a  store-ship,  laden  with  iron  houses, 
belonging  to  a  friend  of  mine,  sunk  at  her  moorings 
during  a  heavy  gale.  When  raised  she  was  so  full 
of  mud,  clay,  and  small  crabs,  that  there  was  no  pos- 
sibility of  rendering  her  cargo  fit  for  sale  at  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  bright  idea  occurred  to  me  of  landing  these 
muddy  materials  at  Vallejo,  and,  after  allowing  the 

H 


178      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


tide  to  clean  them,  to  convert  them  to  some  use  in 
assisting  to  erect  this  capital  that  was  to  be  "made 
to  order."  Landing  my  cargo  on  Vallejo  beach  at  low- 
water  mark,  Canute-like,  I  ordered  the  tide  to  com- 
plete the  very  dirty  work  I  had  set  before  it,  which  it 
did,  and,  to  finish  the  story  here,  in  the  course  of  six 
months  I  erected  a  very  handsome  hotel  out  of  the 
materials.  I  felt  rather  pleased  when  it  was  finished, 
and  painted,  and  handsomely  furnished,  to  think  what 
a  butterfly  I  had  turned  out  of  the  very  dirty  grub  I 
had  found  in  the  hold  of  the  old  hulk.  But  the  moral 
of  the  story  lies  in  the  fact  that  at  this  juncture  the 
government  altered  their  minds  relative  to  the  site  of 
the  capital,  and  selected  Benicia  in  preference. 

The  city  "made  to  order"  was  then  pulled  down 
and  sold  for  old  materials,  to  the  great  delight,  as  may 
be  imagined,  of  myself  and  the  other  speculators  who 
had  worked  so  assiduously  to  raise  it,  and  who  had 
received  no  compensation.  It  is  quite  like  the  story 
of  the  Enchanted  City,  that  was  up  one  day  and  down 
the  next ;  but  somehow  I  don't  find  so  much  pleasure 
in  recalling  the  history  of  Vallejo  as  I  did  as  a  boy  in 
reading  the  fairy  tale. 

The  hills  of  Vallejo  are  destitute  of  game,  but 
abound  in  coyotes,  who  lead  a  predatory  life,  not  al- 
together, I  suspect,  free  from  care  or  anxiety,  as,  ex- 
cepting in  the  calving  season,  they  are  dependent  for 
food  on  the  chance  carcass  of  some  poor  mired  bull  or 
over-driven  mule ;  and,  as  these  casualties  are  not  of 
very  frequent  occurrence,  I  feel  satisfied  that  hunger 
and  the  coyote  know  each  other.  And  indeed  he  has, 
in  a  great  measure,  himself  alone  to  blame  that  his 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  179 


stomach  is  always  either  too  empty  or  too  full ;  for 
this  fellow,  when  he  gets  a  meal,  raises  such  a  hue 
and  cry  in  the  dead  of  night  as  effectually  warns  all 
savory  animals  to  avoid  his  presence. 

In  the  calving  season  the  coyotes  are  in  clover,  and 
the  little  veals  fall  an  easy  prey  to  a  pack  of  these 
nocturnal  robbers.  In  winter,  when  the  wild  geese 
cover  the  hills,  I  doubt  if  the  coyote  gains  much 
permanent  benefit,  judging  from  the  fact  that  I  have 
seldom  found  feathers.  The  geese  encamp  in  vast 
armies,  and  at  times  perhaps  outlying  pickets  and 
sentries  asleep  on  their  post  get  cut  off  by  the  ene- 
my ;  but  the  wild  goose,  fool  as  he  may  be,  has  just 
so  much  keen  relish  for  a  good  joke  as  to  allow  the 
coyote  to  reach  a  point  where  expectation  has  resolved 
itself  into  certainty,  and  then  the  goose  decamps,  har- 
assed undoubtedly  but  whole  in  body.  The  coyote 
has  more  of  the  dog  than  the  fox  in  his  composition, 
and  is  a  bungling  poacher  at  any  time ;  one  feature 
alone  of  his  character  proves  this,  inasmuch  that, 
when  suddenly  disturbed,  he  runs  but  a  few  yards, 
then  stops,  turns  round  and  looks  at  you.  A  Nor- 
folk poaching  lurcher  knows  better  than  that ;  he 
would  never  turn  his  face  to  you  for  fear  you  should 
identify  hi?n,  at  least  so  Barnes  tells  me,  and  he 
ought  to  know ;  but  the  most  satisfactory  proof  that 
the  coyote  is  a  weak  forager  exists  in  the  conclusive 
fact  that  you  seldom  shoot  one  that  has  any  thing  in 
his  stomach. 

As,  therefore,  there  was  no  employment  for  my  rifle 
at  Benicia,  I  was  thrown  on  my  resources  for  amuse- 
ment.   Fortune  again  favored  me ;  fortune,  by  the 


180       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

way,  always  has  favored  me  when  I  have  been  in  pur- 
suit of  amusement,  but  she  snubs  me  amazingly  when 
ever  my  designs  are  in  the  least  degree  mercenary, 
which  leads  me  to  infer  that  that  divinity  is  of  rather 
a  jovial  disposition  than  otherwise. 

In  one  day's  search  I  secured  two  horses,  one  gig, 
three  well-formed  Australian  kangaroo  dogs,  and  three 
blood-hound  whelps,  just  arrived  from  Hobert  Town ; 
these  being  shipped  in  a  small  schooner,  in  com- 
pany with  my  iron  shooting-box,  I  started  for  San 
Luis,  and  called  on  Ramsey,  who  had  probably  for- 
gotten me.  I  urged  him  at  once  to  come  and  be  a 
Vallejo-ite ;  he  demured  at  first,  but  alas !  we  are 
all  mortal ;  pointing  with  one  hand  to  his  buckskins 
and  hunting-saddle,  rotting  from  disuse,  with  the 
other  I  directed  his  attention  to  my  greyhounds,  then 
I  uttered  one  word,  "  coyotes,"  and  Ramsey  struck 
his  flag  in  passive  submission  to  his  destiny — and  fol- 
lowed me. 


CHAPTER  XL 


Coyote  Hunting. — My  Dominions  are  invaded. — Thomas  Kills  a 
Bear. — A  Trial  of  Strength — Rowe's  "Lot." — Choctaw  Elk. — A 
Butchery. — Rough  Life. — Fertility  of  the  Soil. 

Jane,  1851. 

Our  first  duty,  on  arriving  at  Yallejo,  was  to  erect 
a  temporary  shanty,  and  before  we  had  been  long  there 
the  materials  for  about  fifty  houses  were  scattered  over 
the  ground  by  various  speculators.  Ramsey  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  small  village  on  his  own  account,  and 
built  a  dwelling-house,  a  livery  stable,  and  another 
grog-shop,  in  which  his  Champagne  and  tin  pannikins 
were  soon  rattling  away,  as  of  old,  to  the  sound  of  the 
fiddle. 

As  soon  as  I  had  erected  the  iron  house,  to  which 
I  have  already  alluded  in  terms  of  bitterness,  we 
tried  the  projected  coyote  hunt.  I  had  two  horses ; 
one  was  an  old  gray  "  Texian  Ranger,"'  who  had 
seen  so  much  hard  service  that,  when  once  adrift,  he 
was  neither  to  be  caught  with  chaff  or  the  best  of 
oats,  but  had  to  be  lassoed  and  dragged  home  by 
main  force ;  once  assured,  by  means  of  spurs,  and 
bottles  of  water  broken  on  his  head  when  he  reared, 
and  sticks  broken  on  his  side  when  he  buck-jumped, 
that  he  was  "bound  to  go,"  as  they  say  here,  "the 
Old  Soldier"'  (for  so  I  named  him)  proved  an  animal 
of  great  speed  and  endurance,  and  afterward  perform- 


182      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


ed  his  eighty  miles  in  a  day  with  me  without  flinch- 
ing. The  other  was  a  handsome  bay  that  I  had  "bought 
from  a  retiring  watchmaker,  and  he  retained  the  name 
his  last  master  had  bestowed  in  honor  of  his  shop, 
"  Mainspring." 

My  Australian  Kangaroo  dogs  were  a  cross  between 
the  bull-dog  or  bull-mastiff  and  the  greyhound ;  like 
the  generality  of  cross-bred  greyhounds,  they  differed 
only  from  the  thorough-breds  in  increased  size,  muscle, 
and  breadth  of  chest ;  they  ran  of  course  from  sight, 
but  were  not  devoid  of  nose. 

Of  the  three  I  had  procured  but  two  proved  of 
any  value,  Tiger  and  Bevis,  and  these  I  coupled 
for  an  experimental  hunt.  I  trust  I  may  be  excused 
from  the  charge  of  egotism  in  thus  mentioning  these 
animals  in  detail ;  they  were  my  companions  up  to 
the  very  day  I  left  the  country ;  and  being  associated 
with  the  adventures  I  am  sketching  they  will  appear 
in  my  narrative  from  time  to  time.  With  all  his 
faults  I  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  "Old  Sol- 
dier." 

Stealing  quietly  away  to  the  surrounding  hills,  with 
Ramsey  on  the  "Old  Soldier,"  we  soon  found  a 
coyote,  and  I  slipped  the  dogs ;  he  made  a  straight 
run,  but  there  was  no  chance  for  him,  and  in  less 
than  five  hundred  yards  he  was  caught  and  worried 
without  a  fight,  and  I  whipped  the  dogs  off.  I  was 
disappointed ;  I  had  hoped  that  the  coyote  would  not 
only  run  well,  but  would  make  some  kind  of  stand  at 
the  finish;  but  we  found  him  invariably  devoid  of 
any  pluck.  Some  that  we  afterward  saw  would  make 
an  excellent  start  and  then  turn  round  and  attempt  to 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  183 


fraternize  with  the  dogs,  and  these,  after  a  time, 

began  to  recognize  something  of  the  nature  of  the  cur 

in  this  conduct,  and,  after  rolling  the  coyote  over, 

would  turn  back  without  injuring  him.*    So  that  our 

coursing;  was  deferred  until  we  reached  the  hare  Coun- 
ts 

try,  where  the  dogs  showed  to  better  advantage,  and 
generally  killed,  the  hare  of  the  country  being  rather 
a  fool  than  otherwise. 

It  became  necessary  now  for  me  to  return  to  Rus- 
sian River,  and,  as  Ramsey  and  a  Mr.  Bottomly  were 
anxious  to  accompany  me,  we  made  up  a  four-in-hand 
out  of  a  pah*  of  Ramsey's  horses  and  mine,  and, 
throwing  our  blankets  into  the  old  wagon  that  consti- 
tuted our  drag,  we  put  Tiger  and  Bevis  inside  to  save 
their  feet,  and  started. 

"We  arrived  without  accident  at  the  river,  and  I 
found  that  now  the  rains  were  over,  settlers  were  flock- 
ing in  from  all  sides.  The  river  was  still  very  high, 
owing  to  the  melting  snow  at  its  source  :  and  when 
the  wagon  floated  for  a  minute  or  two  as  we  crossed 
the  centre  of  the  ford,  and  then  rilled  to  my  compan- 
ions' knees,  they  evidently  "viewed  with  great  interest 
this,  to  them,  novel  feature  in  "tooling  a  four-in- 
hand." 

The  sun  was  intensely  hot,  and  when  we  had 
reached  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  we  pulled  up 
in  the  shade  to  dine,  the  provisions  having  been  se- 
cured against  all  injury  in  crossing  the  river.  Ram- 
sey insisted  on  drinking  an  immense  quantity  of  the 
river,  which,  however,  he  qualified  with  brandy ;  and 

*  In  which  it  will  be  observed  thev  were  more  merciful  than  I 
was;  but  the  "  coyote"  comes  under  the  head  of  vermin. 


184       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


after  having  in  consequence  expended  a  large  amount 
of  second-hand  £>oetry  on  the  surrounding  scenery, 
nothing  would  please  him  but  he  must  alter  the  tails 
of  his  two  Canadian  switch-tail  ponies,  to  make  them 
match  with  those  of  Mainspring  and  the  Old  Soldier, 
which  were  banged.  I  remonstrated  with  him  on  the 
folly  of  spoiling  two  valuable  animals,  whose  chief 
.beauty  consisted  in  their  manes  and  tails,  but  he 
would  do  it ;  and  having  cut  one  tail  about  a  foot 
shorter  than  the  other  with  a  blunt  table  knife,  he  left 
them  pretty  objects.  Imagine  my  disgust  when  the 
fellow  remarked,  after  gravely  contemplating  them, 
U  Sh'no  consequence,  s'hey  don't  b'long  to  me."  I 
got  into  trouble  about  them  afterward,  as  will  be 
seen. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  we  arrived  at  the  farm, 
where  I  found  every  body  well,  and  glad  to  see  me 
back.  As  I  had  foreseen,  settlers  were  beginning 
even  to  invade  my  dominions,  and  not  only  was  the 
romance  of  the  place  destroyed,  but  the  game  was 
retiring  very  rapidly,  and  it  required  a  long  day's 
walk  to  find  venison.  This  of  itself  would  have  de- 
termined me  to  leave  the  valley,  but  other  causes 
hastened  my  decision — firstly,  the  onions  were  a  fail- 
ure ;  they  had  come  up,  but  the  ground  squirrels  had 
proved  so  numerous  as  to  destroy  all  vestige  of  the 
young  plants ;  secondly,  I  had  on  one  occasion  dis- 
closed at  March's  not  only  that  I  was  not  a  natural- 
ized American,  but  that  I  had  no  intention  of  bring- 
ing myself  into  contempt  by  deserting  my  own  coun- 
try from  interested  motives,  as  too  many  I  regret  to 
say  have  done.    This  had  become  known  among  the 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  1«5 

crowd  of  settlers  that  were  now  hunting  for  pre-emp- 
tion claims ;  they  also  knew,  as  of  course  there  were 
a  few  Philadelphia  lawyers  among  them,  that  as  an 
alien  I  had  no  right  to  the  valley.  Some  of  them 
called  upon  me  to  tell  me  so,  but  these  left  however 
quicker  than  they  came.  Under  all  the  circumstances, 
and  particularly  as  I  never  could  have  resided  among 
such  a  set  as  were  now  "locating''  themselves  about 
the  place,  I  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  gave  the 
farm  as  it  stood  (excepting  the  cattle  and  my  books 
and  shooting  materials)  to  one  of  the  backwoodsmen 
I  had  known  there  for  some  time. 

During  this  last  visit  to  the  old  place,  however,  we 
enjoyed  ourselves ;  the  green  peas  had  arrived  at  per- 
fection, and  the  young  fawns  were  excellent  substi- 
tutes for  lamb.  Tiger  and  Bevis  afforded  us  some 
coursing,  and  Ramsey  found  out  for  the  first  time  in 
his  life  what  it  was  to  stand  knee  deep  in  a  running 
stream  and  wash  a  flannel  shirt  without  soap. 

While  we  were  absent  one  night  on  an  excursion, 
Thomas,  who  remained  at  home,  distinguished  him- 
self by  shooting  a  valuable  milch  cow,  that  had  been 
brought  up  by  one  of  the  new  settlers,  and  which, 
having  strayed  near  the  house,  he  mistook  in  the  dark 
for  a  wild  bull  or  a  bear.  When  we  returned  in  the 
morning,  Thomas,  in  great  trepidation,  had  just  com- 
pleted burying  the  carcass  near  the  house,  and  we 
were  still  laughing  over  the  matter,  when  a  tall  settler 
appeared  among  us  and  inquired  if  we  had  seen  "e'er 
a  cow,*'  to  which  Thomas,  knowing  that  the  settler 
had  followed  his  cow's  trail,  fortunately  replied  in  the 
affirmative,  and  suggested  a  distant  hill  as  a  celebra- 


186      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

ted  rendezvous  for  strayed  cows  in  general,  on  account 
of  the  fine  quality  of  its  spring  water ;  thither  the 
settler  wended  his  way,  after  satisfying  himself  with  a 
few  rapid  and  suspicious  glances  that  we  had  venison 
hanging  about  instead  of  beef,  and  that  no  symptom 
of  cow  was  stamped  about  the  place.  As  he  turned 
once  more  to  call  three  wiry-looking,  gamboge-colored 
curs,  that  he  had  brought  with  him,  and  which  had 
been  sniffing  about,  I  observed  with  horror  that  the 
brutes  were  on  the  cow's  grave,  scratching  away  brave- 
ly— "  Seize  them,  Tiger !  At  them,  Prince  !  Bevis  !" 
and  these  disturbers  of  the  dead  flew  for  their  lives, 
and  as  I  called  the  dogs  off,  evidenced  no  disposition 
to  return,  although  my  brave  defenders  immediately 
had  a  battle  royal  over  the  dainty  morsel  which  had 
thus  been  brought  to  light. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  Barnes's  physical  strength. 
In  Norfolk  he  was  always  an  expert  axman,  even  with 
the  stupid,  broad-headed  Flemish  ax  that  we  still  ad- 
here to  in  England ;  but  his  six  months'  training  at 
the  farm  with  the  American  ax  had  so  improved  on 
his  former  strike  and  natural  powers  of  endurance, 
that  he  was  induced  one  night  to  boast  of  his  prowess 
while  in  company  with  some  backwoodsmen  at  March's 
shanty.  It  had  already  been  proved  that  no  one  of 
the  party  was  a  match  for  him,  as  I  had  given  him 
permission  to  fell  for  March's  saw-mill  in  his  leisure 
hours  (at  which  work,  I  may  mention,  he  often  made 
his  thirty  shillings  a  day).  March  therefore  under- 
took to  bring  a  man  called  Alexander,  to  take  "the 
shine  out  of  Barnes ;"  and  during  our  stay  this  man 
arrived.     He  was  a  Hercules  in  muscle,  though 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  187 


spare,  and  when,  a  tree  having  "been  selected,  the 
men  "stripped  for  work,"  as  Bell's  Life  would  say, 
there  was  little  to  choose  between  them  in  appear- 
ance, though  I  thought  I  saw  an  advantage  on 
Barnes's  side  in  point  of  loins.  To  me  it  is  de- 
lightful to  witness  a  fair  trial  of  skill  and  dexterity 
between  two  picked  athletae,  where,  as  in  this  in- 
stance, the  pleasure  is  unalloyed  by  any  brutal  ex- 
hibition of  inflicted  punishment.  Our  party  and  that 
of  the  Americans  were  equally  excited,  but  no  bets 
were  made,  and  there  was  no  boastful  confidence  in 
the  issue  on  either  side.  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere 
that  the  redwood  tree  retains  in  its  growth  sometimes 
so  perfect  a  perpendicular  that  it  may  be  cut  round 
its  centre,  and  yet  remains  erect  on  a  calm  day,  sup- 
ported but  by  a  few  inches  of  the  heart.  A  tree  hav- 
ing therefore  been  selected  of  about  eight  feet  diame- 
ter, as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  the  men  were  jMaced 
on  either  side,  and  a  few  straight  lines  for  their  £iiid- 
ance  having  been  chalked  on  the  bark,  they  com- 
menced work — the  man  on  whose  side  the  tree  fell  to 
be  declared  the  winner,  as  he,  of  course,  would  have 
cut  the  deepest.  For  the  first  part  of  the  day  the 
champions  worked  manfully,  stroke  for  stroke,  and  the 
issue  seemed  to  the  last  doubtful ;  but  at  length  the 
strokes  became  weaker  and  slower,  and  then  Barnes 
seemed  to  have  kept  something  back  for  the  finish  ; 
for  after  a  few  vigorous  drives,  the  huge  tree  fell  over 
on  his  side,  and  came  thundering  to  the  ground.  It 
was  a  touch-and-o'o  victory,  and  caused  no  ill  feeling ; 
but  Barnes,  on  returning  home,  was  very  unwell  from 
over-exertion,  and  during  the  night  he  wandered  in 


188 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


his  head ;  the  next  day,  however,  he  was  quite  well ; 
but  the  "shine"  was  taken  out  of  him  although  he 
won. 

I  bade  farewell  to  the  little  valley  before  its  charms 
had  so  palled  upon  me  by  use  as  to  render  me  indiffer- 
ent to  its  possession,  but  its  great  charm  of  seclusion 
that  first  bound  me  to  it  was  lost ;  and  in  my  eyes  it 
was  as  much  "  cut  up"  by  the  presence  of  fresh  set- 
tlers, as  is  your  country  villa,  sir,  when  a  rushing  rail- 
way, marking  out  its  track  directly  through  your  fa- 
vorite clump  of  weeping  willows,  sends  its  hot  cinders 
on  to  the  very  lawn  in  front  of  you;  but  you  were 
compensated  for  your  villa  being  smoke-begrimed,  and 
sold  it,  moreover,  on  good  terms  to  Styles,  who  likes 
living  near  a  railway,  and  being  hourly  reminded 
that  his  country  is  making  "giant  strides,"  while  I, 
equally  a  victim  to  the  march  of  improvement,  walked 
out  without  any  other  reflection  than  that  I  had  gone 
to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for  the  sole  benefit  of  an  ut- 
ter stranger. 

We  arrived  at  Vallejo  without  accident.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  tailless  Canadian  horses  brought  for- 
ward their  indignant  owner,  who  demanded  of  me, 
as  conductor  of  the  expedition,  an  exorbitant  sum, 
which  I,  of  course,  refused  to  pay,  upon  which  he 
went  to  law ;  and  about  the  time  that  the  hotel  was 
completed,  an  execution  was  put  on  it  by  the  sheriff, 
for  the  amount  claimed  for  two  horses'  tails  that  I 
never  touched. 

We  had  very  little  sport  at  Yallejo.  A  few  wild 
fowl  hung  about  the  marshes,  but  were  very  hard  to 
secure.    Snipe  and  curlew  also  were  tolerably  plenti- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  189 


ftd ;  but  the  sun  was  hot,  and  the  yellow  treeless  hills 
dazzled  the  eyes  too  much  for  shooting.  Our  guns 
therefore  were  shelved  for  the  present ;  but  I  found 
another  source  of  amusement  by  fortunately  making 
the  acquaintance  of  a  young  Englishman  of  the  name 
of  Rowe. 

Eowe  was  a  surveying  engineer  of  good  ability,  and 
had,  previous  to  leaving  England,  scarified  that  coun- 
try to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  shape  of  tunnels 
and  cuttings  on  railways.  His  present  business  in 
Yallejo  consisted  in  surveying  and  laying  out  the  plan 
of  that  city,  which  having  completed,  he  was  now 
transferring  to  a  gorgeous  map,  on  which  the  Botanical 
Gardens,  Orphan  Asylums,  and  Schools  for  the  Indi- 
gent Blind  were  already  traced  and  lettered. 

Rowe  possessed  about  a  dozen  small  Californian 
and  Indian  horses,  and  as  these  brutes  were  not  only 
now  wild,  but  were  of  that  peculiar  breed  that  can 
neither  be  tamed  or  fattened,  I  could  not  at  first  con- 
ceive what  object  Rowe  had  in  keeping  them,  espe- 
cially as  they  were  all  small,  gaunt,  and  painfully  ugly. 
I  perceived  that  almost  daily  my  new  acquaintance, 
dressed  in  Californian  spurs  and  leggings,  would  mount 
the  horse  that  he  generally  kept  by  him  (with  the  saddle 
always  on),  and  proceed  in  search  of  the  others  which  he 
had  turned  out  to  graze  on  the  hills  the  night  previous. 

In  the  evening  he  would  return  as  usual,  driving 
his  ill-looking  pack  before  him,  and  these,  after  being 
inclosed  for  a  short  time,  would  be  again  turned  out. 
On  my  suggesting  that  his  animals  seemed  to  cause 
him  more  trouble  than  they  were  worth,  he  at  once 
elucidated  the  mystery. 


190      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


It  appeared  that  he  had  received  these  scarecrows 
from  time  to  time  in  payment  of  bad  debts,  contracted 
for  surveys  of  the  surrounding  farms  ;  they  cost  no- 
thing to  keep,  as  they  lived  on  the  wild  oats,  and  the 
reason  he  turned  them  out  and  brought  them  home 
each  day,  was  for  the  pleasure  of  hunting  and  catch- 
ing them  with  the  lasso  when  he  could.  I  soon  joined 
him  in  this  diversion,  and  the  sport  was  most  exciting. 
His  band,  as  soon  as  they  saw  us  coming,  would  have 
an  appearance  similar  to  this  : 


eowe's  lot. 


They  would  stand  in  a  crowd  together,  looking  at 
us  out  of  the  corners  of  their  eyes ;  then,  as  we  ap- 
proached, they  would  go  over  the  hills  and  gulches, 
while  we  rode  after  them,  shouting  and  heading  them 
back  whenever  we  could. 

After  two  or  three  hours  of  this  exercise,  they  would 
allow  themselves  to  be  driven  without  much  trouble 
into  Rowe's  corral.    I  believe  they  liked  the  sport; 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  191 


whether  or  no,  they  got  it  every  day,  and  as  it  was 
all  they  had  to  do,  they  were  better  off  than  most 
of  their  race.  In  fact,  the  Old  Soldier  did  the  same 
work  with  me  on  his  back,  and  liked  it  so  much 
that  I  could  not  hold  him  at  last  when  once  he  got 
sight  of  these  scarecrows.  He  tried  to  catch  them 
one  day  when  in  the  gig,  because  they  suddenly 
appeared  in  sight,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  deep 
gulch  that  brought  us  all  up  with  a  smash,  I  be- 
lieve he  would  have  "  corraled"  them  on  his  own  ac- 
count. 

Rowe  had  an  Indian  pony  of  great  power  and  en- 
durance ;  it  was  named  "  Chocktaw,"  after  the  Amer- 
ican Indian  tribe,  to  which  of  right  it  belonged.  He 
had  a  head  like  a  wedge  of  w^ood,  and  although  toler- 
ably quiet  under  a  severe  Spanish  bit,  he  had  the  habit 
of  never  taking  his  eyes  off  you.  He  was  always  sus- 
picious, if  you  walked  round  him,  and  would  follow 
you  with  his  wild  colt's  eye. 

Chocktaw  combined  the  sure-footedness  of  the  mule 
.with  the  speed  of  the  horse,  and  the  capability  of  the 
donkey,  of  living  and  doing  well  upon  comparatively 
nothing,  which  was  so  far  fortunate  for  him  as  he  was 
occasionally  locked  up  and  forgotten  for  a  day  or  two, 
during  which  periods  of  trial  he  generally  munched 
shavings,  and  upon  being  remembered  and  released 
became  more  suspicious  than  ever. 

Chocktaw  and  the  Old  Soldier  became  fast  friends, 
so  much  so,  that  the  latter  kicked  other  horses  on 
Chocktaw's  account,  and  took  him  under  his  protec- 
tion generally,  even  to  the  length  of  eating  Chocktaw's 
oats  (which  he  got  on  Sundays),  for  fear,  no  doubt, 


192      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

they  should  disagree  with  his  Indian  stomach ;  wheth- 
er this  made  him  more  suspicious  or  not,  I  don't  know, 
but  Chocktaw  never  took  his  eyes  off  his  friend  for 
all  their  affection. 

The  unhappy  Chocktaw  is  typical  of  a  class  of 
men  who  live  continually  in  the  torment  of  half-con- 
firmed suspicions — innocents  who,  stopping  half-way 
Jin  their  study  of  the  world,  are  ever  doubting  and 
fearing,  yet  never  learning,  force  the  lesson  on  them 
as  you  will — 44  Chocktaws"  to  whom  44  Old  Sol- 
diers" are  necessary — these  latter  cheating  them,  yet 
preventing  others  from  doing  so ;  finding  brains  for 
them ;  kicking  other  horses  for  them,  but  eating  their 
oats  as  recompense.  Unhappy  then  the  Chocktaw 
who  wriggles,  as  it  were,  in  the  half-consciousness 
of  being  outwitted,  and  torments  himself  with  vain 
suspicions.  Far  more  to  be  envied  he  who  can  clap 
his  persecuting  protector  on  the  back,  and  own  him 
to  be  44 necessary  but  expensive;"  his  mind  is  at 
ease  from  that  time  forth ;  he  can  pay  his  bully  as 
he  does  his  income-tax,  and  get  more  for  his  money.  . 

News  was  brought  in  one  day  that  a  band  of  elk 
had  been  seen  near  the  place,  and  upon  this  the  whole 
population  turned  out.  Independently  of  the  fact  that 
I  feared  being  shot  by  some  of  the  party,  among  whom 
were  several  boys,  armed  with  rifles,  I  knew  that  the 
elk  does  were  heavy  at  this  season,  and  I  had  no  mind 
to  assist  in  a  butchery.  The  drove  was  headed  about 
nightfall  in  marshy  ground,  and  about  eighteen  does 
were  killed. 

I  was  sorry  to  have  lost  the  chance  of  hitting  the 
slot  of  these  beasts,  for  the  bucks  might  easily  have 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


193 


been  secured  with  care ;  whereas,  approached  as  they 
were,  while  drinking  in  marshy  and  treacherous 
ground,  the  bucks  being  on  the  outskirts  made  for 
the  hills,  while  the  poor  frightened  does  became  quag- 
mired,  and  fell  an  easy  prey. 

About  this  time  I  received  a  visit  from  Sir  Henry 
Huntly,  and  we  started  on  an  exploring  expedition ; 
but  losing  our  way,  found  ourselves  at  length  near 
Napa.  Pulling  up  temporarily  at  a  small  house  at 
the  side  of  the  creek  to  inquire  the  road,  we  found  it 
occupied  by  half  a  dozen  fine-looking  fellows,  who 
were  sitting  over  their  supper.  The  invitation  to  join 
them  was  too  heartily  offered  to  refuse,  and  Sir  Henry 
and  myself,  being  armed  each  with  a  cast-iron  knife 
and  tin  platter,  attacked  the  provisions  as  men  do  who 
lose  their  way,  and  fall  happily  and  unexpectedly  on 
a  savory  stew  of  antelope.  We  were  glad  enough  also 
to  be  so  kindly  invited  to  pass  the  night  there,  for  a 
day  passed  in  the  hot  sun  is  very  fatiguing,  and  once 
down,  a  man  has  to  be  kicked  up  again,  particularly 
after  a  surfeit  of  antelope  stew.  So  we  lit  our  pipes, 
and  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  we  allowed  gradually 
to  leak  out  who  and  what  we  were.  Our  entertainers 
consisted  of  four  Americans  and  two  Englishmen. 
These  latter  were  army  men,  who  had  thrown  up  their 
commissions  in  Canada  to  seek  a  rough  and  adventur- 
ous life  in  exchange  for  the  dull  routine  of  barracks. 
So  far  as  roughness  went,  they  had  it  in  perfection, 
and  they  stood  it  well;  but  the  roughest  roughness 
palls,  and  an  adventurous  life,  with  its  fevers  and 
privations,  and  hard  toil  in  the  blistering  sun,  soon 
loses  its  charms,  and  then  comes  the  yearning  for 

I 


194       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


home,  and  it  is  best  then  to  have  something  to  fall 
back  upon. 

There  are  few,  after  all,  to  whom  either  roughness 
or  adventurous  life  comes  aptly,  although  the  proud 
man  scorns  to  own  he  feels  the  privation  he  has  sought 
as  it  were ;  but  few  of  those  who  have  sacrificed  posi- 
tion, comforts,  and  friends  elsewhere,  for  the  pursuit 
of  freedom  and  adventure,  with  wealth,  of  course,  ap- 
pearing in  the  distance,  have  realized  their  dreams,  or 
have  done  otherwise  in  the  long  run  than  own  their 
folly,  and  mourn  it  secretly.  Some  men  are  born  for 
a  wild  and  careless  life — a  happy  liveliness  of  disposi- 
tion, knowledge  of  the  world,  physical  health,  reck- 
lessness of  personal  safety,  indifference  to  social  posi- 
tion and  home  comfort,  all  fit  them  for  it ;  their  creed 
is  to  do  as  no  one  else  does  (and  they  do  none  the 
worse  for  this)  ;  these  men  are  few  in  number,  and 
they  can  live  when  others  starve.  Observe  the  man 
in  a  hunting-field,  who  strikes  out  his  own  line  of 
country,  and  that  a  new  one  to  him ;  each  fence  may 
conceal  a  marl-pit,  but  he  faces  bravely  all  obstacles, 
and  comes  in  right  at  last.  Hash  fool!  says  Jones, 
as  he  opens  a  gate.  Stupid  ass !  echoes  Brown,  as  he 
creeps  through  a  gap.  But  no !  Brown  and  Jones 
would  be  both  fools  and  asses  if  they  tried  to  do  it, 
but  to  this  man  such  work  comes  naturally. 

As  a  rule,  the  fate  of  the  minnows  who  will  pursue 
an  unbeaten  track  is  certain  enough.  It  is  generally 
a  great  mistake  when  men  throw  up  on  their  own  ac- 
count a  certain  means  of  livelihood,  to  seek  adventure 
and  fortune  in  new  gold  countries.  It  is  generally  a 
great  mistake  when  fathers  with  spendthrift  sons,  stu- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  195 


pid  sons,  or  lazy  sons,  say,  "  John,  you  are  doing  no 
good  for  yourself ;  here  are  five  hundred  pounds ;  go 
and  try  your  luck  in  the  diggings."  It  was  a  great 
mistake  when  a  party  of  gentlemen  left  England,  in 
1849,  for  California  in  a  yacht  of  then  own,  and  having 
arrived  at  the  diggings,  got  disgusted,  and  returned 
very  much  out  at  elbows,  with  most  melancholy  re- 
ports respecting  the  gold-fields.  And  these  are  great 
mistakes,  for  this  reason ;  that  patience  under  disap- 
pointment, and  a  disposition  that  can  ever  look  san- 
guinely  into  the  future,  are  as  requisite  for  "rough 
life"  as  strong  hands,  willing  hearts,  and  sound 
health. 

Our  entertainers  occupied  themselves  in  market- 
gardening,  which  is  a  peaceful  and  unexciting  profes- 
sion ;  and  as  the  whole  party  were  animated  with  a 
strong  love  of  adventure,  and  were  anxious  for  some- 
thing more  soul-stirring  than  weeding  and  watering- 
beds  of  cabbages,  TSoon  after  I  last  saw  them  they  dis- 
banded and  dispersed,  nor  have  I  heard  of  them  since. 

Vegetables  attain  an  unusual  size  in  California, 
owing  to  the  rich  qualities  of  the  maiden  soil ;  but  I 
have  observed  an  insipidity  in  every  thing  that  has 
thus  rapidly  matured,  and  size  is  attained  at  the  ex- 
pense of  loss  of  flavor.  Onions  and  tomatoes  as  large 
as  cheese  plates  are  common.  Melons  have  attained 
the  weight  of  fifty  pounds.  Wheat  and  oats  grow  to 
the  height  of  eight  and  ten  feet,  and  are  very  prolific 
in  the  ear.  Potatoes  reach  dimensions  unheard  of  else- 
where ;  and  the  diameter  of  a  cabbage  is  sometimes 
so  large  that  the  cabbage  has  to  be  seen  to  be  be- 
lieved in. 


196      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


A  brutal  murder  had  been  committed  at  Napa  pre- 
vious to  our  arrival ;  the  murderer  had  been  sentenced 
to  death,  and  without  any  ostensible  reason,  a  free 
pardon  for  this  felon  was  granted  by  the  governor  of 
the  State.  During  our  stay  here  some  of  the  most 
determined  of  the  citizens  of  Napa  frustrated  this  act 
of  ill-timed  mercy,  and  the  murderer  was  found  hung 
in  his  cell.  No  further  notice  was  taken  of  the 
matter ;  but  this  act  can  not  be  justified  under  any 
circumstances,  for  as  the  people  elected  the  governor, 
and  armed  him  with  the  right,  had  he  so  chosen,  of 
setting  free  every  convicted  felon  in  the  State,  their 
election  was  a  farce  if  his  decision  was  not  binding  in 
the  pardon  he  dispensed  to  the  Napa  murderer. 


* 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Another  Fire. — My  Geological  Friend. — "  Burnt  out." — Sacramento. 
— Levee. — Hulks. — Rats. — Vigilance  Committee. — Start  for  Vol- 
cano.— Crockett. — "Right  side  up." 

June,  1851. 

Shortly  after  my  return  to  Vallejo,  a  bright  glare 
in  the  direction  of  San  Francisco  indicated  too  surely 
that  the  city  was  again  in  flames.  The  wind  was 
very  high,  and  we  had  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  conflagration  was  general.  Having  roused  out  the 
Old  Soldier  to  his  intense  disgust,  I  reached  Benicia 
in  time  to  take  a  passage  to  San  Francisco  in  the  last 
returning  Stockton  boat.  We  met  steamers  going  up 
river  crowded,  that  stopped  and  confirmed  our  worst 
fears ;  mine  in  particular,  for  I  had  felt  anxious  re- 
specting the  property  of  a  friend  who  had  shown  me 
unceasing  kindness  since  my  arrival  in  the  country. 
I  learnt  that  his  stores  had  already  fallen,  and  knew 
that  he  was  ruined.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  we 
landed,  for  the  fire  had  extended  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  in  many  places  the  wharves  had  been  disconnect- 
ed ;  every  where  deep  holes  had  been  burnt  in  them, 
and  some  were  drowned  that  night  from  this  cause. 

The  ruins  of  the  fire  were  quite  deserted,  the  inhab- 
itants had  sought  the  suburbs,  sorrowfully  no  doubt, 
for  a  night's  rest ;  and  the  bright  moon  looked  calmer 
than  ever  in  contrast  to  the  red  angry  embers  which 
smouldered  on  every  side. 


198      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


I  found  myself  alone  after  I  had  scrambled  up  a 
small  hill  that  commanded  a  view  of  the  fallen  city, 
and  I  never  remember  feeling  so  solitary  in  my  life. 
Small  <fc>lumns  of  red-tinted  smoke  rose  lazily  in  every 
direction,  the  blackened  shells  of  brick  warehouses 
stood  out  here  and  there  in  bold  relief  against  the 
moonlight,  while  every  crevice  and  window  in  them 
was  fantastically  lighted  by  the  glowing  embers  that 
still  burnt  within.  Over  the  ruins  of  large  drug  stores 
ghostly  lights  of  blue  and  green  flickered  in  a  super- 
natural manner.  Where  the  fire  had  already  been 
extinguished,  dark  pits  seemed  to  yawn,  and  open 
wells,  and  deep  cisterns,  stood  ready  on  all  sides,  their 
coverings  being  burnt,  to  trap  the  unwary  adventurer 
who  might  be  led  to  explore  those  regions.  Not  a 
sound  broke  the  stillness  of  the  night,  and  as  the 
moon  was  overshadowed  by  a  passing  cloud,  I  turned 
and  stumbled  on  what  was  either  a  very  dead  man  or 
a  very  drunken  one,  and  having  seen  all  there  was  to 
see,  I  descended  the  hill  and  rejoined  my  companions. 

Lodgings  were  scarce  enough  that  night,  as  may 
be  imagined,  nor  was  there  a  sufficient  number  of 
houses  standing  to  accommodate  the  burnt-out  citi- 
zens. I  was  fortunate  enough  to  meet  an  Hungarian 
geologist,  who  was  probably  the  poorest  man  in  San 
Francisco,  for  the  science  he  professed  could  not  at 
this  time  be  put  to  much  account  in  California.  Were 
it  not  for  the  respect  in  which  I  hold  a  learned  society 
at  home  before  which  "papers"  are  read,  and  by  which 
laws  are  made  for  the  better  regulation  of  geology,  I 
should  say  that  the  reason  why  the  votaries  of  this 
science  did  not  succeed  in  California,  arose  from  the 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  199 


fact,  that  this  eccentric  country,  had  for  ages  past 
acted  in  defiance  of  the  fundamental  rules  of  the 
society  in  question :  whether  or  no,  whenever  my 
friend  set  out  in  search  of  gold  on  scientific  principles, 
he  generally  left  that  metal  farther  behind  him  at 
every  step. 

Wherever  you  go  now  you  will  meet  a  few  Hunga- 
rians, and  I  have  ever  found  them  a  superior  class  of 
men — quiet  and  unobtrusive  in  their  habits,  and  of 
very  liberal  education.  My  geological  friend  had  a 
small  hut  built  among  the  sand-hills.  As  we  walked 
toward  it  we  were  called  on  to  deliver  by  three  gen- 
tlemen of  the  road,  but  as,  happening  to  be  both 
armed,  we  made  the  usual  demonstration  in  such 
cases,  we  went  on  our  way  without  molestation.  Not 
but  what  it  would  have  been  a  kindness  to  have 
robbed  the  Hungarian,  for  though  he  had  no  money 
in  his  pocket,  and  his  clothes  were  valueless,  he  was 
staggering  through  the  deep  sand  under  the  weight 
of  an  enormous  bag  of  quartz  he  had  collected,  every 
ounce  of  which  I  foresaw  was  destined  to  be  pulver- 
ized in  a  hand  mortar  and  tested,  involving  a  great 
amount  of  labor  but  no  profit  I  tossed  up  with  my 
friend  who  should  have  his  bed,  and  having  won  it  I 
was  soon  asleep,  it  being  now  nearly  daylight ;  when 
I  awoke  he  was  gone,  and  I  was  at  no  loss  to  conject- 
ure that  he  had  sought  elsewhere  a  softer  couch  than 
the  heap  of  rocks  and  fossils  that  had  fallen  to  his 
lot. 

When  I  reached  the  burnt  city  all  was  again  ani- 
mation, and  on  every  side  preparations  were  being 
made  for  rebuilding  it  of  brick  and  stone. 


200 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


I  have  alluded  to  a  friend ;  it  was  with  sorrow  that 
I  viewed  the  wreck  of  the  noble  warehouses  that  had 
been  his :  but  yesterday,  as  it  were,  he  had  pointed 
to  these  buildings  with  pride,  as  evidencing  his  suc- 
cessful efforts,  though  never  forgetful  to  whom  suc- 
cess was  owing,  while  to-day  a  heap  of  ashes  marks 
the  emptiness  of  human  calculation.  A  week  ago  and 
his  glorious  hospitality  assembled  hundreds  to  com- 
memorate the  completion  of  a  stately  warehouse — to- 
day the  firm  is  hopelessly  and  irretrievably  ruined. 

He  lies  now  in  the  cemetery  outside  San  Francisco, 
and  those  who  have  not  forgotten  the  warm  grasp  of 
a  hand  that  was  ever  ready  to  succor — now  that 
that  hand  is  cold,  will  recognize  this  sketch,  and  will 
not  blame  me  for  recording  this  slight  tribute  to  his 
memory. 

After  a  diligent  search  I  was  directed  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  sundry  steel  buttons  to  the  ashes  of  what 
had  been  my  wardrobe ;  every  thing  had  been  de- 
stroyed, and  among  the  papers  I  had  lost  were  the 
notes  and  sketches  of  the  country  that  I  had  collected 
to  this  date,  which  notes,  after  three  years,  I  am  re- 
writing from  memory. 

After  contemplating  mournfully  the  whitened  re- 
mains of  two  little  dogs  that  lay  side  by  side,  with 
the  blackened  ashes  of  my  dress  coat  and  patent 
leather  boots,  I  turned  from  the  spot,  and  shortly 
afterward  encountered  Sir  Henry  Huntly,  who,  in  an 
equally  melancholy  frame  of  mind,  had  just  completed 
a  survey  of  his  "  ashes ;"  we  agreed  to  pay  a  visit  to 
the  northern  mines,  and  made  preparations  for  a  start. 

The  wooden  wharves  had  for  the  most  part  been 


MOUNTAINS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


201 


converted  into  charcoal,  and  the  steamer  was  crowded 
with  those  who,  like  ourselves,  were  anxious  to  leave 
behind  them  so  much  desolation. 

The  mail  steamer  had  come  in  from  Panama,  and 
ladies  who  had  just  arrived  to  find  their  husbands, 
houseless  and  ruined,  were  hurrying  careworn  from 
their  toilsome  journey  sorrowfully  to  seek  a  tempo- 
rary shelter  in  Sacramento.  There  were  troupes  of 
actors,  who,  forgetting  all  rivalry  in  their  common 
adversity,  felt  the  reality  of  tragedy.  The  fire-bell 
had  arrested  their  performances,  and  though  they 
worked  ever  so  manfully  at  the  breaks,  the  temples 
of  Thespis  had  been  swept  away  in  the  storm,  and 
with  them  their  wardrobes  and  arrears  of  pay.  There 
were  professional  gamblers  for  whom  the  losing  card 
had  now  turned  up,  who,  burnt  out  of  their  tinsel 
saloons,  were  starting  for  the  mines,  to  commence 
life  again  in  a  thimble-rigging  tent,  until  growing 
prosperous  they  could  work  gradually  back  again  to 
San  Francisco,  where  the  tinsel  saloons  were  already 
being  rebuilt. 

There  were  speculators  who  had  a  "  snug  lot"  of 
flour  or  pork  up  country,  and  who  were  off  tc  fetch  it 
down  and  lock  it  up  in  store-ships,  until  the  wants 
of  the  community  should  make  it  worth  its  weight  in 
gold  almost.  There  were  small  traders,  whose  debtor 
and  creditor  accounts  had  been,  fortunately  for  them, 
buried  in  oblivion  by  the  general  ruin,  and  who  talked 
furiously  of  their  losses,  and  bespattered  their  hard 
fate  with  curses  of  the  loudest  and  deepest  character. 
And  there  were  many  who  like  myself  had  come  to 
satisfy  their  curiosity,  just  as  we  go  to  the  sea-shore 

I* 


202 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


and  view  the  wreck  of  a  noble  ship ;  and  these  grew 
hilarious  upon  the  strength  of  having  lost  nothing,  and  - 
returned  to  their  homes  in  famous  good-humor  with 
themselves  and  all  the  world. 

Passing  Benicia  we  entered  Suisun  Bay,  on  the 
shores  of  which  a  city  was  attempted — Xew  York  by 
name — but  failed.  There  is  something  to  admire  in 
the  audacity  of  speculators,  who  finding  themselves 
possessed  of  a  few  acres  of  swamp,  wave  their  wands 
and  order  a  city  to  appear.  The  working  human  tide 
of  California  ebbed  and  flowed  past  Xew  York  with 
great  regularity,  but  all  commands  to  arrest  it,  and  di- 
rect it  from  its  natural  course  were  futile  as  regarded 
that  city,  which  really  presented  no  advantage  that  I 
could  see.  It  is  now  dusk,  and  we  enter  the  Sacra- 
mento river.  Presently  we  pass  a  large  steamboat 
going  down,  who  gives  us  a  close  shave,  and  compli- 
mentarily  strikes  three  bells,  upon  which  we  strike 
three  bells  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  pass  a  small 
steamboat  also  going  down,  who  gives  us  a  closer 
shave,  and  shrieks  three  times  out  of  something  con- 
nected with  her  steam-pipe,  upon  which  we  groan  three 
times  out  of  something  connected  with  our  steam-pipe. 
These  salutes  are  invariably  observed,  and  the  greater 
the  rivalry  between  the  boats,  the  louder  they  scream 
at  each  other. 

The  banks  of  the  river  are,  for  the  most  part, 
marshy;  but  in  the  fading  light  we  catch  glimpses 
here  and  there  of  small  cultivated  inclosures,  with 
comfortable-looking  shanties  peeping  between  the  oak 
trees.  After  supper  every  body  turns  in,  and  at  day- 
light we  arrive  at  Sacramento. 


M  u  U  N  I  A.INS 


A  N  D 


MOLEHILLS. 


203 


Sacramento  is  built  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  from 
the  encroachments  of  which  it  is  as  often  drowned  as 
its  sister  city  is  burnt.  The  houses  are  gayly  painted, 
and  the  American  flag  waves  in  every  direction.  The 
streets  are  wide,  and  some  trees  that  have  been  left 
standing  in  the  town  give  it  a  cheerful  appearance. 

It  is  an  American  town  at  the  first  glance.  An 
immense  quantity  of  sign-boards  stare  at  you  in  every 
direction ;  and  if  any  thing  would  induce  a  man  to 
purchase  ,;Hay  and  Grain,*'  "Gallego  Flour,"  '*  Go- 
shen Butter,"  or  any  other  article  for  which  he  has  no 
want,  it  would  be  the  astounding  size  of  the  capital 
letters  in  which  these  good  tilings  are  forced  upon  his 
notice. 

Every  other  house  is  an  hotel  or  boarding-house ; 
for,  with  few  exceptions,  every  one  is  put  out  to  "  liv- 
ery," as  it  were,  in  Sacramento;  and  in  hard  times, 
when  cash  is  scarce,  one  half  of  the  population  may 
be  said  to  feed  the  other  hall'  gratuitously,  or  on 
credit,  which  often  amounts  to  the  same  thing ;  thus 
affording  a  beautiful  illustration  of  mutual  support 
and  confidence. 

Sacramento  is  terribly  dusty.  The  great  traffic  to 
and  from  the  mines  grinds  three  or  four  inches  of  the 
top  soil  into  a  red  powder  that  distributes  itself  everv 
where.  It  is  the  dirtiest  dust  I  ever  saw,  and  is  never 
visited  by  a  shower  until  the  rainy  season  sets  in,  and 
suddenly  converts  it  into  a  thick  mud. 

I  was  introduced  to  a  club  of  Sacramento  gentle- 
men, who  had  formed  themselves  into  what  thev 
called  a  literary  society.  In  their  rooms  was  to  be 
found  what  in  those  days  was  scarce — a  tolerable 


204       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


collection  of  books  and  the  periodicals  of  the  day. 
They  were  very  jovial  fellows,  well-informed,  not  so 
literary  as  I  expected,  and  certainly  quite  free  from 
pedantry.  The  most  important  ceremony  at  their 
meetings  consisted  in  the  members  standing  in  a 
circle,  upon  which  a  Chinese  hat  of  teetotum  shape 
was  spun  in  the  centre,  and  the  "literary  savant" 
who  was  indicated  by  a  black  mark  on  the  hat 
when  it  ceased  to  spin,  stood  "  drinks  for  the  crowd." 

The  weather  was  oppressively  warm,  and  the  iced 
"  drinks"*  were  necessary,  even  to  a  literary  society; 
so  much  so,  that  the  hat  was  kept  continually  spinning 
by  public  acclamation.  There  was  no  lack  of  sensible 
and  entertaining  conversation,  and  the  evenings  passed 
with  these  gentlemen  were,  to  my  thinking,  none  the 
less  pleasant,  although,  perhaps,  less  literary,  for  the 
twirling  of  the  Chinese  hat. 

A  levee,  or  sea-wall,  has  been  built  in  front  of  the 
city,  to  protect  it  from  the  river  when  it  rises  with 
the  high  spring  tides ;  but  the  river  generally  under- 
mines these  works,  and  flows  over  the  surrounding 
plain  as  it  has  been  wont  to  do  for  ages  past. 

A  large  number  of  old  dismantled  hulks,  now  con- 
verted into  floating  houses,  are  moored  along  the 
front  of  the  levee,  and  it  is  from  these,  probably, 
the  rats  first  landed  that  are  now  so  distinguished  at 
Sacramento  for  their  size  and  audacity.  These  ani- 
mals come  out  after  dark  in  strong  gangs,  as  if  the 

*  ^Drinks"  are  not  necessarily  composed  of  intoxicating  liquors  : 
on  the  contrary,  the  principal  ingredients  are  ice,  syrup,  and  herbs. 
I  mention  this  because  we  mean  by  a  man  who  "  drinks,"  a  drunk- 
ard, or  the  next  thing  to  it. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  205 


town  belonged  to  them,  and  attack  any  thing  that 
may  happen  to  have  been  left  on  the  wharf  during 
the  night ;  being  very  numerous,  the  destruction  they 
cause  to  merchandise  is  a  serious  loss. 

Ten  thousand  dollars  were  offered,  I  was  told,  to 
the  man  who  should  clear  the  town ;  and,  seduced 
by  this  bribe,  some  one  in  the  rat-catching  line  vol- 
unteered to  draw  all  the  rats  into  the  country,  and 
there  inclose  them  in  a  paddock,  to  be  publicly  ex- 
posed previous  to  a  massacre ;  but  whether  the  rats 
thought  it  best  to  leave  well  alone,  and  be  content 
with  the  comfortable  quarters  and  nice  pine-apple 
cheeses  they  enjoyed  in  the  city,  or  whether  they 
objected  to  country  air,  does  not  appear;  but  they 
never  went  out  to  the  paddock,  except  one,  who  is 
reported  to  have  approached  within  a  reasonable  dis- 
tance of  the  vain-glorious  rat-catcher,  and  then  stand- 
ing on  his  hind  legs,  after  the  manner  of  rats,  and 
scratching  the  tip  of  his  nose  contemplatively  with 
his  paw,  he  turned  tail  for  the  city,  causing  grievous 
disappointment  to  five  terrier  dogs,  who  ineffectually 
chevied  him  in. 

The  conflagrations  of  San  Francisco  had  been  at- 
tributed to  incendiarists,  and  as  many  attempts  to  fire 
the  town  had  been  frustrated,  it  is  probable  that  this 
was  the  case.  A  Volunteer-Guard,  therefore,  patrolled 
the  city  of  Sacramento  at  night,  to  guard  against  this 
evil,  and  to  protect  the  inhabitants  from  the  wholesale 
plunder  of  organized  bands  of  burglars.  Crime  had 
increased  so  rapidly  of  late  in  San  Francisco,  and 
robbers  and  incendiarists  had  become  so  embold- 
ened by  the  impotence  and  venality  of  the  justiciary, 


206      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


that  the  citizens  organized  a  society  styled  the  Vigil- 
ance Committee,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  pro- 
tection to  life  and  property  that  the  law  would  not  be- 
stow. 

So  far  was  well ;  but  this  society,  composed  of  men 
who  smarted  under  personal  loss,  attributed,  perhaps 
unjustly,  to  incendiarism,  took  upon  themselves  the 
dispensation  of  life  and  death. 

Men  detected,  as  was  supposed,  in  the  act  of  felony 
only,  were  tried,  sentenced,  and  executed,  without  de- 
fense, in  the  same  night. 

It  is  useless  now  to  dwell  on  the  summary  execu- 
tions that  were  put  in  force  in  half  a  dozen  cases  by 
the  Vigilance  Committee ;  no  one  would  defend  their 
acts,  and  they  met  with  opposition  at  the  time  from 
the  better  class  of  citizens  ;  the  memory  of  them  may 
pass  away,  but  they  certainly  had  the  effect  at  the 
time  of  ridding  the  country  of  a  set  of  desperate  men, 
and  of  restoring  a  degree  of  security  to  the  inhabitants 
of  San  Francisco  that  had  never  previously  been  en- 
joyed. 

Colonel  D  ,  a  friend  of  Sir  Henry's,  had  control 

of  a  quartz  vein  at  a  place  called  Volcano,  in  the  north- 
ern mines,  and  we  determined  upon  an  inspection  of 
this  vein,  which  was  reported  to  be  highly  auriferous. 

We  started  at  daybreak,  in  a  light  spring-wagon, 
and  taking  with  us  our  blankets,  we  were  soon  five 
miles  from  Sacramento,  and  pulled  up  at  the  young 
town  of  Brighton. 

Colonel  D  appeared  to  be  the  owner  of  Brigh- 
ton; and,  being  a  sporting-man,  he  had  constructed  a 
race-course  here ;  with  the  exception  of  the  race-course 


I 

MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  207 

and  one  or  two  stables,  there  was  not  much  of  the 
town  developed  as  yet ;  but  being  really  advanta- 
gousiy  situated,  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  well  popu- 
lated by  this  time. 

The  road  was  straight  and  level,  and  on  either  side, 
inclosed  by  fences,  were  well-cultivated  farms;  numer- 
ous dwelling-houses  lined  the  road,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  believe  that  the  signs  of  civilization  and  industry 
that  met  us  on  all  sides,  were  the  result  of  two  years' 
occupation  of  the  country  by  gold-hunters. 

As  we  left  Brighton  we  overtook  long  lines  of  wag- 
ons, heavily  laden  with  stores  for  the  mines ;  and 
these,  drawn  by  innumerable  oxen,  plowed  up  the 
deep  dust  to  such  an  extent  as  obliged  us  to  cover  our 
faces  as  we  passed  them.  We  met  wagons  coming 
in,  containing  miners,  on  whom,  to  judge  by  their  ap- 
pearance generally,  a  bath,  a  shave,  and  a  new  suit 
of  clothes  would  not  be  thrown  away ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  they  indulged  in  these  luxuries  on  their  arrival 
at  Sacramento. 

AVe  stopped  to  breakfast  at  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment kept  by  one  Crockett,  who  had  a  very  pretty 
wife ;  but  the  possession  of  this  luxury,  so  far  from 
humanizing  Crockett,  appeared  to  keep  him  in  a  con- 
tinual fever  of  irritation ;  for  he  was  jealous,  poor  fel- 
low !  and  used  to  worry  himself  because  there  was  ever 
a  dozen  or  two  of  hairy  miners  gazing  in  a  bewildered 
manner  at  Mrs.  C.  ;  but,  if  report  speaks  truly,  the 
bonnet  and  boots  of  a  "  female"  had  been  successfully 
exhibited  in  this  region  at  a  dollar  a  head  (a  glimpse 
of  them  being  thought  cheap  even  at  that  price),  surely, 
therefore,  Crockett  might  have  excused  the  poor  miners 


208       M  OUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHIL  L  S. 

for  regarding  attentively  the  original  article  when  pre- 
sented gratis  in  the  shape  of  a  pretty  woman. 

Crockett  carried  a  revolver  of  disproportionate  size, 
he  not  being  a  large  man,  and  this  instrument  he  oc- 
casionally used  upon  provocation.  A  great  number 
of  miners  had  looked  at  Mrs.  Crockett  on  the  morning 
of  our  arrival,  and  her  husband  had  not  quite  finished 
foaming  at  the  mouth  in  consequence,  when  we  entered 
the  house.  It  was  some  time  before  he  condescended 
to  be  civil ;  but  having  at  length  informed  us  that  he 
was  "so  riled  that  his  skin  cracked,"  he  added  that 
he  was  a  "devilish  good  fellow  when  he  was  4 right 
side  iqpS"  and  commanded  us  to  drink  with  him. 
After  this  he  procured  us  a  most  excellent  breakfast, 
and,  on  the  strength  of  our  respectable  appearance, 
allowed  Mrs.  Crockett  to  preside  at  this  repast,  which 
she  did  in  a  nervous  manner,  as  if  momentarily  under 
the  expectation  of  being  shot. 

We  left  our  host  "right  side  up,"  and  proceeding 
on  our  way,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  the  cultivated  coun- 
try, and  began  to  traverse  undulated  plains  studded 
with  the  dwarf  oak.  The  road  now  gradually  becomes 
worse,  and  has  long  ceased  to  be  level;  we  pass  road- 
side houses,  whose  names  indicate  the  localities  in 
which  they  are  placed:  "  E  oiling  Hills,"  "Willow 
Springs,"  "Red  Mountain,"  and  so  forth. 

After  traveling  twenty  miles  we  ascend  the  first 
range  of  hills  ;  the  pine-tree  appears,  and  here  and 
there  we  catch  glimpses  of  the  American  Fork  River. 
As  we  leave  the  plain,  and  ascend  the  wooded  hills, 
trails  may  be  observed  indicated  by  blazed  trees, 
leading  to  mountain  gorges,  where  diggers  are  at  work. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  209 


Flowers  clothe  the  hills  in  the  richest  profusion,  and 
most  conspicuous  is  the  yellow  poppy,  which  lightens 
up  these  desolate  red  hills  for  a  few  weeks  each  spring ; 
growing  in  rich  masses  that,  in  contrast  to  the  bleak 
and  stunted  herbage,  are  like  sunbeams,  and  like  sun- 
beams leave  every  spot  they  cheer  more  gloomy,  when, 
under  the  influence  of  the  first  hot  summer  wind,  they 
droop  in  a  night  and  pass  away. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


An  old  She-goat. — Our  Mineralogist. — Gold  Diggers. — Murderer's 
Bar. — The  Theorist  puzzled. — Mining  Laws. — Jumping  Claims. 
— The  Miner's  Life. — "Let  her  Slide." — Hostile  Indians. — We 
are  disgusted. — Fire-proof  Houses. 

July,  1851 

We  reached  the  Salmon  Fall  diggings  about  noon, 
and,  without  halting,  crossed  a  wooden  bridge  that 
had  been  built  here  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Ameri- 
can River ;  we  paid  five  dollars  toll  to  its  enterpris- 
ing owner,  and  ascended  the  opposite  hill.  The  road 
here  became  so  uneven  that  we  got  out  of  the  wagon 
in  preference  to  being  pitched  out,  and  we  were  kept 
very  busy  in  locking  the  wheels  when  it  went  down 
hill,  and  pushing  behind  when  it  went  up.  We  pass- 
ed no  houses  now,  but  trails  led  off  on  either  side, 
while  occasionally  we  encountered  solitary  miners 
44  prospecting"  near  the  road.  44  Prospecting"  is  the 
term  applied  to  a  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  diffi- 
culties, that  is,  searching  for  gold  where  no  trace  of  it 
is  apparent  on  the  surface.*  There  are  plenty  of 
44  prospectors"  in  the  mines,  but  the  profession  scarcely 
pays,  for  the  44  prospector"  is  the  jackal  who  must 
search  for  many  days,  and,  when  he  has  found,  the 
lion,  in  the  shape  of  the  old  miner,  steps  in  and  reaps 
the  benefit.  So  that  there  is  something  to  be  learnt 
in  the  diggings,  for  undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  princi- 
*  Looking,  in  fact,  for  new  diggings. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  211 


A  PROSPECTOR. 

pies  in  life  is  to  look  on  while  others  work,  and  then 
step  in  and  cry  "halves." 

We  stopped  at  dusk  at  a  house  a  little  off  the  trail, 
and,  having  had  supper,  we  spread  our  blankets  on 
the  ground,  and  being  tired  were  soon  asleep ;  but 
we  soon  awoke  again,  for,  separated  from  us  by  a 
canvas  screen,  was  a  young  goat,  whose  dismal  Heat- 
ings made  "night  hideous:"  vain  were  the  impreca- 
tions that  were  showered  on  the  goat's  head  ;  daylight 
discovered  him  still  crying,  and  us  awake  and  unre- 
freshed. 

As  we  prepared  to  start,  in  rather  a  sullen  humor, 
what  was  our  astonishment  when  our  host  accosted  us 
smilingly  thus  :  "I  had  an  addition  to  my  family  last 
evening,  gentlemen,  and  as  fine  a  boy  as  ever  you 
saw ! "  ^So  he  must  be,  thought  we,  to  have  a  voice 
like  a  goat ;  and,  as  we  went  on  our  way,  we  recalled 


212 


MOUNTAINS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


the  compliments  with  which,  during  the  night,  we  had 
greeted  the  new-born  babe,  under  the  innocent  impres- 
sion that  it  was  a  kid  ;  and  conjectured  to  ourselves 
the  feelings  of  the  mother  when  she  heard  herself  al- 
luded to  as  an  old  she-goat ! 

As  the  wagon  followed  the  trail,  we  walked  through 
the  forest  at  the  side ;  the  botanist  of  our  party  had 
now  ample  employment,  and  tortured  a  new  flower  at 
each  step  ;  while  our  mineralogist  pocketed  specimens 
with  such  fervor  that  their  accumulated  weight  began 
at  last  to  tell  severely  on  his  frame,  upon  which  he 
discharged  his  gleanings  surreptitiously,  to  our  great 
amusement,  for  we  insisted  that  he  had  dropped  them 
by  accident,  and  made  him  pocket  them  again.  If 
the  people  of  this  world  had  but  to  carry  their  hobbies 
up  a  dusty  mountain,  under  a  hot  sun,  in  the  shape 
of  a  bag  of  quartz,  how  soon  they'd  cast  them  off  ! 

At  noon,  having  reached  the  ridge  of  the  mountain, 
we  had  an  extended  view  of  the  gold  country  as  it 
stretched  away  for  miles  beyond  us  in  a  succession  of 
steep  red  hills ;  through  these  the  American  Fork 
rushed  impetuously,  and  huge  masses  of  redwoods 
clothed  the  highest  mountains  ;  while,  in  the  distance, 
the  white  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  were  percepti- 
ble ;  those  famous  mountains  of  which  the  reputed 
wealth  is  still  as  much  the  Dorado  of  the  Californian 
diggers,  as  were  the  placer  fields  before  me  once  the 
dream  of  the  Mexicans  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
"Prospectors"  visit  these  cheerless  snows  never  to  re- 
turn ;  but,  like  the  discontented  squirrel  of  the  fable, 
who  would  ascend  the  sun-lit  hills  that  looked  so 
much  like  gold,  reach  them,  utter  a  moral,  and  die. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


213 


A  turn  of  the  road  presented  a  scene  of  mining  life, 
as  perfect  in  its  details  as  It  was  novel  in  its  features. 
Immediately  beneath  us  the  swift  river  glided  tran- 
quilly, though  foaming  still  from  the  great  battle 
which,  a  few  yards  higher  up,  it  had  fought  with 
a  mass  of  black  obstructing  rocks.  On  the  banks 
was  a  village  of  canvas  that  the  winter  rains  had 
bleached  to  perfection,  and  round  it  the  miners  were 
at  work  at  every  point.  Many  were  waist-deep  in  the 
water,  toiling  in  bands  to  construct  a  race  and  dam  to 
turn  the  river's  course ;  others  were  intrenched  in 
holes,  like  grave-diggers,  working  down  to  the  "bed 
rock."  Some  were  on  the  brink  of  the  stream  wash- 
ing out  44  prospects"  from  tin  pans  or  wooden  ''bat- 
teas,"  and  others  worked  in  company  with  the  long- 
torn,  by  means  of  water-sluices  artfully  conveyed  from 
the  river.  Many  were  coyote-ing  in  subterranean 
holes,  from  which  from  time  to  time  their  heads  popped 
out,  like  those  of  squirrels,  to  take  a  look  at  the  world  , 
and  a  few  with  drills,  dissatisfied  with  nature's  work, 
were  preparing  to  remove  large  rocks  with  gunpowder. 
All  was  life,  merriment,  vigor,  and  determination,  as 
this  part  of  the  earth  was  being  turned  inside  out  to 
see  what  it  was  made  of. 

The  air  was  so  still  and  clear  that  the  voices  rose  to 
us  with  startling  distinctness,  and  when  a  head  ap- 
peared from  a  distant  pit,  and  its  owner  vociferated, 
"How  are  you,  Frank?"  I  though  at  first  he  meant 
me,  and  was  on*  the  point  of  replying,  "Well  and 
hearty,  thank  him.    How  was  he  ?" 

Small  patches  of  garden  surrounded  the  village, 
which  bore  so  palpably  the  stamp  of  cheerfulness  and 


214 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


happy  industry,  that  I  was  disappointed  on  learning 
that  its  name  was  "Murderer's  Bar;"  though  the  ap- 
pellation was  justly  conferred  in  memory  of  a  brutal 
murder  that  had  been  committed  among  its  earliest 
settlers. 

Had  all  the  diggings  been  named  in  accordance  with 
the  circumstances  that  ushered  them  individually  into 
public  notice,  there  would  be  more  Murderer's  Bars 
than  the  traveler  would  well  know  what  to  do  with, 
unless  they  were  numerically  arranged  like  the  John 
Smiths  in  the  muster-roll  of  a  marching  regiment. 

The  name  is  unpleasantly  candid  ;  there  are  plenty 
of  "  diggings"  that  can  record  their  tales  of  blood 
much  more  forcibly  than  Murderer's  Bar,  but  under 
such  peaceful  titles  as  44  Diamond  Springs,"  or  44  Hap- 
py Valley,"  they  bring  no  shudder  to  the  traveler.  So 
that  we  learn  another  thing  at  the  diggings,  which  is, 
that  it  is  ridiculous  to  be  a  Publican  and  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it  to  every  stranger,  when  such  great  im- 
munity is  gained  under  the  garb  of  the  Pharisee. 

One  would  ask  how  it  is  that  Murderer's  Bar, 
despite  its  name,  is  a  peaceable  village,  where  each 
man's  wealth,  in  the  shape  of  ten  feet  square  of  soil, 
is  virtuously  respected  by  his  neighbor ;  it  is  not  be- 
cause there  is  enough  for  all,  for  every  paying  claim  has 
long  ago  been  appropriated,  and  the  next  comer  must 
go  further  on.  There  is  a  justice  of  the  peace  (up  to 
his  arms  in  the  river  just  at  present),  and  there  is  a 
constable  (who  has  been  44  prospecting"  a  bag  of  earth 
from  the  hill,  and  been  rewarded  with  a  gold  flake  of 
the  value  of  three  cents) ;  these  two,  one  would  sup- 
pose, could  scarcely  control  two  or  three  hundred  men, 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


215 


with  rude  passions  and  quick  tempers,  each  of  whom, 
as  you  observe,  carries  his  revolver  even  while  at 
work.  But  these  armed,  rough-looking  fellows  them- 
selves elected  their  judge  and  constable,  and  stand, 
ever  ready,  as  "specials,"  to  support  them. 

If  a  man  wanted  a  pickax  or  a  shovel,  and  thought 
to  help  himself  to  one  of  those  that  lie  about  at  all 
times  at  Murderer's  Bar,  he  would  find  it  inconvenient 
if  discovered ;  for,  as  there  is  no  extenuating  clause 
of  hunger  or  misery  in  the  diggings,  theft  is  held  to 
be  a  great  crime ;  in  all  probability  the  offender  would 
be  whipped  at  the  tree ;  and  this  brings  us  again  to 
the  perplexing  subject  of  Lynch  law  as  relating  to  the 
miners. 

I  venture  to  say  that  it  will  puzzle  the  theorist  to 
determine  how  far  the  roving  population  of  the  mining- 
regions  in  California  have  been  justified  in  taking 
measures  to  eject  the  bad  and  worthless  from  among 
them ;  for  all  rules  and  precedents  fall  before  the 
strong  argument  of  self-preservation.  When  Christian 
and  his  shipmates  landed  at  Pitcairn's  Island  and 
made  laws  for  the  regulation  of  their  small  colony 
(happily  little  needed),  they  acted  as  much  upon  the 
principle  of  Lynch  law  as  did  the  miners ;  for  these 
latter  were  equally  without  the  reach  of  the  laws  under 
which  they  had  been  born.  Where,  after  all,  was 
the  great  difference  in  the  first  trial  by  jury  and  the 
Lynch  execution  among  a  colony  of  men  living  far 
from  civilization?  Was  the  peace  of  a  community 
of  honest  men  to  be  disturbed  by  crime  and  bloodshed, 
unpunished,  when,  from  circumstances,  the  law  of 
their  country  was  unable  to  protect  them?  These 


216      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


and  similar  questions  would  form  the  basis  of  the  ar- 
gument in  defense  of  Lynch  law  in  the  mountains. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  opponent  would  point  to 
the  fearful  instances  on  record  of  men-  being  hurried 
to  eternity  without  preparation — victims  to  the  over- 
wrought feelings  of  an  excited  mob.  The  defense  of 
self-constituted  law  is  untenable,  yet  there  are  in- 
stances in  which  small  communities  have  seemed  to 
me  justified  in  enforcing,  by  the  only  means  at  their 
command,  the  order  so  necessary  in  such  a  state  of 
society  as  that  of  the  mountain  gorges  of  California. 

But  when  we  see  this  law  ' 4  subverting  law"  in  a 
city  like  San  Francisco,  then  we  are  forced  sweeping- 
ly  to  condemn,  once  and  for  all,  all  that  bears  the 
name  of  Lynch,  and  we  feel  loth  to  admit  that  in  any 
case  the  end  can  ever  justify  the  means.  Still  it  is  a 
question,  taken  from  first  to  last,  that  one  may  split 
straws  on,  when  we  see  how  peacefully  Murderer's 
Bar  progresses,  not  under  the  execution,  but  under 
the  fear  of  Lynch  law.  In  most  mining  villages 
public  indignation  has  been  confined  to  ordering  men 
to  "leave  the  camp"  in  twenty-four  hours,  or  other- 
wise take  the  consequences ;  and  after  being  thus 
warned,  the  nefarious  digger  invariably  "  slopes." 

The  mining  population  have  been  allowed  to  con- 
stitute their  own  laws  relative  to  the  appointment  of 
"claims,"  and  it  is  astonishing  how  well  this  system 
works.  Had  the  Legislature,  in  ignorance  of  the 
miner's  wants,  interfered  and  decided  that  a  man 
should  have  so  much,  and  no  more,  of  the  soil  to 
work  on,  all  would  have  been  anarchy  and  confusion. 

Whereas  now,  every  "digging"  has  its  fixed  rules 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  217 


and  by-laws,  and  all  disputes  are  submitted  to  a  jury 
of  the  resident  miners ;  excepting  in  those  instances 
where  twenty  men  or  so  are  met  by  twenty  men,  and 
in  these  cases  there  is  first  a  grand  demonstration 
with  lire-arms,  and  eventually  an  appeal  to  the  dis- 
trict court.  The  by-laws  of  each  district  are  record- 
ed in  the  Kecorder's  Office  of  the  county,  and  these 
laws  are  stringent  although  self-constituted ;  ill-de- 
fined at  first,  and  varying  as  they  did,  they  were  con- 
flicting and  troublesome,  but  though  they  have  been 
jumbled  as  it  were  in  a  bag,  they  have  come  out  like 
alt.  Crockett,  "right  side  up." 

I  have  had  my  claim  in  the  digging  more  than 
once,  of  ten  feet  square;  if  a  man  "jumped*'  it,  and 
encroached  on  my  boundaries,  and  I  did'nt  knock 
him  on  the  head  with  a  pickax,  being  a  Christian,  I 
appealed  to  the  "crowd,*'  and  my  claim  being  care- 
fully measured  from  my  stake  and  found  to  be  correct, 
the  "jumper*'  would  be  ordered  to  confine  himself  to 
his  own  territory,  which  of  course  he  would  do  with 
many  oaths. 

It  is  customary  to  leave  your  mining  tools  in  your 
claim,  to  indicate  to  all  new-comers  that  it  is  occu- 
pied, and  as  this  rule  is  recognized,  it  saves  a  great 
deal  of  unnecessary  explanation;  but  it  has  often 
struck  me  that  if  in  the  quiet  and  virtuous  hamlet  of 
Little  Pedlington,  a  market  gardener  were  to  leave 
his  spade  outside  as  a  sign  of  occupancy,  he  would 
not  detect  that  implement  in  the  morning,  in  spite  of 
the  vigilance  of  the  one  policeman,  who  guards  that 
blissful  retreat. 

We  descended  the  cliff  by  a  short  cut ;  the  miner- 
K 


218       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


alogist  took  a  shorter,  for  a  ledge  of  earth  gave  way 
beneath  his  weight,  and  enabled  him  to  reach  the  base 
about  three  minutes  before  us. 

Gongs  sounded  at  this  moment,  and  the  red  clayey 
population  flocked  in  to  dine,  looking  disproportion- 
ately dirty  in  contrast  with  their  white  houses :  I  did 
not  see  a  woman  in  the  "camp."  But  these  things 
are  being  better  ordered  now,  and  I  can  foresee  the 
day  when  the  traveler  from  Murderer's  Bar  shall  speak 
of  anxious  mothers  rushing  from  the  white  tents  with 
soap-sud  arms  to  rescue  embryo  miners  from  the  gut- 
ter; and  when  flaxen-headed  urchins  shall  gaze  sus- 
piciously at  the  approach  of  such  as  I,  and  running- 
back  to  their  parents,  will  exclaim,  "  Oh !  daddy, 
here's  a  Britisher!" 

The  gold  is  found  here  in  coarse  flakes,  and  the 
bank  washings,  from  all  accounts,  average  five  or  six 
dollars  a  day  per  man. 

The  days  had  passed  when  diggings  were  aban- 
doned, so  soon  as  they  ceased  to  reward  a  day's  toil 
with  less  than  an  ounce  or  two  of  gold,  and  "chunks" 
and  "  big  strikes"*  were  now  exceptions  to  the  rule ; 
but  the  days  had  passed,  also,  when  to  obtain  these 
prizes  men  labored  painfully  under  the  influence  of 
fever,  produced  by  bad  food  and  poisonous  spirits,  to 
die  at  last,  perhaps,  disgorging  every  hard-earned  flake 
of  gold  to  some  attendant  quack. 

Much  happier  the  miner,  when,  as  at  Murderer's 
Bar,  his  toil  is  regularly  rewarded  with  a  smaller  gain, 
for  his  health  is  no  longer  impaired  by  feverish  excite- 
ment and  drink,  and  the  necessaries  of  life  are  placed 
*  Deposits  of  gold. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  219 


within  his  reach,  at  prices  that  enable  him  to  save  his 
gold  scales  as  well  as  his  constitution,  for  the  "  rainy 
day,"  that  in  one  form  or  the  other  comes  to  all  at  last. 

Leaving  the  village  and  passing  some  hills,  the  sides 
of  which  were  overgrown  with  the  white  azalia,  we 
reached  another  part  of  the  river,  where  was  a  ferry- 
boat, and  here  we  found  our  wagon.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  the  ascent  was  very  steep,  and  would 
have  been  impracticable  for  wagons,  had  not  the  owner 
of  the  ferry  excavated  a  portion  of  the  mountain,  and 
otherwise  constructed  a  road. 

For  this  outlay  of  capital  the  ferryman  was  reaping 
a  rich  harvest ;  having  thus  opened  the  only  practica- 
ble trail  at  this  time  to  the  more  northern  mines,  he 
had  secured  to  himself  the  toll  of  every  wagon  pass- 
ing to  or  from  those  regions,  and  these  tolls  amounted 
in  one  year  to  sixty  thousand  dollars  (£12,000).  The 
original  capital  was,  I  understood,  the  result  of  suc- 
cessful digging ;  and  I  mention  this  circumstance,  as 
it  proves  two  things ;  first,  that  fortunes  in  the  mines 
are  not  dependent  on  the  discovery  of  little  nests  of 
gold,  as  some  suppose,  but  on  the  judicious  applica- 
tion in  a  new  country  of  the  small  capital  which  a 
little  steady  work  with  the  pick-ax  will  insure  to  any 
industrious  and  healthy  man ;  and,  secondly,  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  gold  amassed  in  mining  regions 
is  expended  upon  the  permanent  improvement  of  the 
country ;  so  that  the  export  of  the  "dust"  is  no  crite- 
rion of  the  yield. 

Bridges,  femes,  roads,  water-courses,  dams,  hotels, 
and  stage-coaches,  have  nearly  all  been  started  by 
means  of  the  capital  obtained  from  the  soil  over  which 


220       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

they  run,  or  on  which  they  are  constructed.  No  one 
knows  what  a  wagon  will  undergo  until  he  has  mas- 
tered Californian  trails  and  gulches.  The  worst  places 
are  the  steep  descents  that  skirt  the  base  of  a  mount- 
ain, where  the  road  has  an  inclination  of  about  thirty 
degrees  toward  the  precipice  beneath. 

In  such  places  you  may  fasten  a  rope  to  the  axle 
of  the  wagon,  and  passing  the  other  end  round  a  tree 
or  rock  as  a  check,  you  may  let  her  "slide,"  which 
she  will  do  without  any  further  trouble  on  your  part. 

We  were  now  approaching  a  spot  where  a  few  days 
previously  the  Indians  had  made  some  successful  de- 
scents upon  mining  parties,  cutting  off  some  of  their 
number.  The  Indians  of  this  region  promise  to  be  a 
great  annoyance,  for  they  are  mounted  and  brave,  and 
are  gradually  becoming  possessed  of  rifles. 

There  is  an  Indian  commission  in  the  country,  and 
portions  of  territory,  called  "Indian  Reserves, "  have 
been  marked  out  as  in  other  States,  and  presented  to 
the  Indians  from  their  good  father,  the  President. 
These  " Reservations"  the  Indians  accept  and  occupy; 
but  the  lurking  idea  still  remains,  that  the  rest  of  the 
country  is  theirs  also,  and  in  the  mean  time  they  "lift 
hair,"*  from  time  to  time,  to  keep  their  hands  in. 

When  Indians — laboring  under  the  ridiculous  no- 
tion that  any  thing  can  belong  to  them  that  the  white 
man  wants — become  troublesome,  it  is  customary  to 
drive  them  back ;  but  the  Indians  of  this  region  when 
so  driven,  will  find  their  revenge  in  carrying  on  an 
exterminating  warfare  against  the  overland  emigration 
— at  least  so  it  appears  to  me. 

*  Scalp. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


221 


Still,  the  policy  of  conciliation  pursued  by  the 
"  Commissioners"  is  the  only  one  that  lies  open,  and 
if  they  can  persuade  these  savages  "that  half  a  loaf 
is  better  than  no  bread,"  they  will  have  carried  out 
their  diplomatic  mission  to  its  full  extent.  But  it  is 
easier  to  lull  Indian  suspicions  than  to  eradicate  them ; 
and  unfortunately  for  all  parties,  these  aborigines  cher- 
ish morbid  ideas  relative  to  the  "graves  of  their  fa- 
thers," from  which,  under  the  influence  of  diplomacy, 
they  have  been  induced  to  retire :  and  certainly  in 
those  cases,  where  their  progenitors  have  been  buried 
in  auriferous  soil,  their  remains  are  not  more  relig- 
iously respected  than  would  they  have  been  had  their 
fate  consigned  them  to  some  of  our  intramural  bury- 
ing-grounds.  For  although,  in  a  civilized  country, 
one's  great-grandmother's  skull  may  be  thrown  up 
with  impunity,  when  her  lease  of  the  grave  is  out, 
these  Indians  cling  to  the  absurd  superstition  that  the 
great  "Manitou"  looks  wrathfully  on  those  who  will- 
fully disturb  the  dead ! 

We  ascended  hill  after  hill,  and  by  noon,  being- 
hot,  tired,  and  dusty,  the  scenery  had  no  longer  charms 
for  our  eyes ;  we  passed  gigantic  redwoods  only  to 
sneer  at  them  ;  we  pooh-pooh'd  cascades  that  fell  from 
masses  of  black  basaltic  rock  ;  the  honey-suckles  that 
lent  their  sweetness  to  the  air  around  us,  were  pro- 
nounced disgusting  ;  and  even  the  botanist  reproached 
the  yellow  poppies  with  being  "  stinking,"  as  if  he 
couldn't  have'bome  with  them. 

But  when  we  pulled  up  at  "  Smith's  ranche"  and 
bathed  and  dined,  we  dismissed  these  unhealthy  feel- 
ings, and  took  the  honey-suckles  to  our  bosoms 


222       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


again.  We  now  began  to  experience  the  change  of 
air  consequent  on  our  increased  elevation,  and  the 
ascent  was  so  rapid  here,  that  thirty  miles  ahead  of 
us  the  snow  was  reported  to  be  lying  fifteen  feet  in 
depth. 

Where  we  now  were,  the  main  trail  was  little  worn, 
but  at  a  certain  point  we  struck  off  to  the  right 
through  the  forest,  and  following  the  "blazed  trees'* 
we  suddenly  emerged  on  a  clear  and  rocky  ledge  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain.  Here  was  the  quartz  vein 
we  had  come  to  see,  and  its  thirteen  American  owners 
lived  upon  the  spot  in  a  couple  of  log  huts. 

We  were  received  with  great  hospitality,  although 
this  was  of  less  substantial  kind  than  it  would  have 
been,  had  not  our  entertainers  been  "out  of  every 
thing"  but  flour,  water,  and  tea.  We  had  fortunately 
brought  some  provisions  with  us,  otherwise  we  might 
have  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  a  mountain  appetite 
longer  than  was  conducive  to  comfort.  During  two 
days  we  inspected  the  quartz  mine,  and  having  to 
the  best  of  our  ability  satisfied  ourselves  of  its  wealth, 
we  retraced  our  road  to  Sacramento,  taking  care  to 
avoid  the  residence  of  the  "old  she  goat,"  but  call- 
ing on  Crockett,  whom  we  again  found  with  his 
"  skin  cracking"  at  some  imaginary  insult  to  his 
wife. 

When  we  reached  San  Francisco  we  found  that 
preparations  were  going  on,  on  all  sides,  for  erecting 
brick  and  stone  builings  in  lieu  of  combustible  shan- 
ties. 

The  style  of  architecture  in  vogue  was  less  remark- 
able for  cunning  design  than  for  its  sturdy  fire-proof 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  223 

qualities  ;  and  although  the  square  houses,  with  their 
thick  walls  and  double  doors,  and  shutters  of  strong- 
iron,  and  bomb-proof  cellars  underground,  added  little 
toward  the  embellishment  of  the  city,  it  was  no  time 
to  think  of  elegant  facades  or  imposing  friezes  when 
the  first  object  was  the  security  of  life  and  property. 
Each  building,  then,  was  intended  to  assume  the  char- 
acter of  a  fortress  to  resist  the  common  enemy  of  the 
place ;  and  from  that  day  to  this,  this  end  has  been 
fortunately  carried  out,  and  the  heart  of  the  city  is  im- 
pervious to  fire. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Joe  Bellow. — Stockton. — A  Bear  Trapper. — Bear  and  Bull  Fights. 
— An  nneasy  Bear — Californian  Inns. — Natural  Roads. — Good 
Driving. — I  kill  a  Flea. — Sonora. — The  Evening  commences.— 
French  Emigrants. — A  Drinking  Bar. — Number  Eighty. — A  Cor- 
ral and  a  Moral. 

September,  1851. 

So  many  reports  had  reached  San  Francisco  at 
this  time  of  the  discovery,  in  various  parts  of  the 
mining  regions,  of  auriferous  veins  of  quartz  of  im- 
mense wealth,  that  all  that  portion  of  the  population 
who  were  in  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up,  had 
already  departed  for  the  mountains  in  search  of  gold 
rock. 

Although  not  exactly  belonging  to  this  class,  it  was 
my  destiny  to  hear  from  one  Joe  Bellow  an  account 
of  a  certain  mineral  district,  a  portion  of  which,  it 
appeared,  had  been  showered  by  Fortune  into  his 
lap.  His  description  was  resistless.  His  natural 
volubility,  trained  as  it  had  been  by  his  professional 
duties  as  an  auctioneer,  overcame  all  obstacles  that  I 
could  raise,  and  I  succumbed  to  his  earnest  entreaty 
that  I  would  visit  the  mine  in  question  and  feast  my 
eyes,  as  he  had  feasted  his,  on  the  glittering  wealth 
which  nature  had  here  exposed  to  view,  and  of  which 
he  extracted  a  specimen  from  his  pocket  of  the  most 
satisfactory  description. 

The  mine  was  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Sonora, 

♦ 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  225 


the  chief  town  of  the  southern  mines ;  and  as,  inde- 
pendently of  my  curiosity  to  inspect  it,  I  wished  to 
visit  that  section  of  the  country,  we  started  at  four 
o'clock  one  evening  in  a  small  river  boat  called  the 
"Jenny  Lind,"  bound  to  Stockton,  a  town  situated 
on  the  San  Joaquin  River. 

On  starting  from  San  Francisco  for  the  mines,  it 
was  but  natural  to  bid  adieu  to  cleanliness  and  com- 
fort for  the  time  being;  and  having  so  fortified  my- 
self, I  was  better  able  to  withstand  the  intolerable 
filth  of  the  "Jenny  Lind."  She  has  since  "blown 
up,"  which  is  about  the  only  thing  that  could  have 
purified  her. 

At  daylight  we  arrived  at  Stockton,  which  I  shall 
allude  to  more  fully  by-and-by,  and  at  once  landed 
and  secured  our  places  in  the  stage  then  about  to 
start  for  the  town  of  Sonora. 

The  stage-coach  was  of  American  manufacture,  and 
of  the  class  known  as  "  Concord"  coaches.  It  carried 
nine  inside  and  two  out.  Our  driver  was  a  colonel, 
and  his  name  was  Eeed.  He  was  one  of  the  best 
of  whips,  and,  as  proprietor  of  the  line  by  which  we 
were  now  traveling,  he  was  making  money  very  fast. 
Having  been  forestalled  in  the  box  seat  by  a  very 
hairy  miner,  I  completed,  in  company  with  Mr.  Joe 
Bellow,  the  complement  inside,  after  paying  the  gal- 
lant colonel  an  "ounce"  for  passage  money.  This 
was  a  "reduced  fare,"  occasioned  by  an  opposition 
having  lately  made  its  appearance  on  the  Sonora 
road ;  the  bare  mention  of  this  emulative  vehicle 
raised  the  colonel's  "  dander."  With  a  crack  of  the 
whip  we  started  at  a  good  pace  behind  four  well- 

K* 


226 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


built,  active  beasts,  not  over-groomed,  or  "turned 
out"  very  expensively  as  to  harness,  but  famous 
goers,  and  good  for  ten  miles  an  hour  over  the  plain. 

Lines  of  stages  now  traverse  the  country  in  every 
direction,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  canvas  mining  vil- 
lage that  is  debarred  from  communication  in  this  way 
with  the  principal  towns.  The  horses  used  by  these 
lines  are  of  the  best  quality ;  for  a  Yankee  stage- 
driver  knows  wherein  true  economy  lies ;  but  the 
capital  required  to  start  a  line  is  very  considerable, 
and  as  soon  as  the  profits  begin  to  "  tumble  In  pretty 
freely,"  as  Colonel  Reed  remarked,  up  starts  an  op- 
position— for  stage-driving  is  a  favorite  speculation ! 
Our  inside  passengers  consisted  of  a  young  Canadian 
woman,  who  traveled  under  the  protection  of  an  ill- 
looking  dog,  a  kind  of  Irish  Yankee,  who  was  very 
quarrelsome  and  bumptious,  and  carried  his  revolver 
in  a  very  prominent  position.  We  had  two  or  three 
miners,  who,  as  a  matter  of  course,  brought  their  ri- 
fles and  blankets  with  them  into  the  coach,  and  who 
squirted  their  juice  at  passing  objects  on  the  road 
with  astonishing  accuracy.  We  had,  however,  one 
decided  character.  This  was  a  man  who,  as  he 
gratuitously  informed  us,  was  professionally  a  bear- 
hunter,  bear-trapper,  and  bear-fighter ;  who,  in  fact, 
dealt  generally  in  grizzly  bears.  When  he  shot  bears 
— and  it  appeared  he  lived  in  the  mountains — he  sold 
the  meat  and  cured  the  skins ;  but  when  he  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  trap  a  tine  grizzly  alive,  a  rich  har- 
vest generally  awaited  him.  The  grizzly  was  imme- 
diately transferred,  bound  head  and  foot,  to  a  large 
and  strong  cage ;  and  this  being  mounted  on  the  bed 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  227 

of  a  wagon,  the  animal  was  dispatched  to  some  large 
mining  town  in  the  vicinity,  where  notice  was  given, 
by  means  of  handbills  and  posters,  that  "  on  the 
Sunday  following  the  famous  grizzly  bear,  'America," 
would  fight  a  wild  bull,  etc.,  etc.  Admission,  five 
dollars." 

A  bull  and  bear  fight  is,  of  all  exhibitions  of  this 
description,  the  most  cruel  and  senseless.  The  bear, 
cramped  in  his  limbs  by  the  strict  confinement  that 
his  strength  and  ferocity  have  rendered  necessary,  is 
placed  in  the  arena  :  and  attached  to  him  by  a  rope 
is  a  bull,  generally  of  fine  shape  and  courage,  and 
fresh  from  the  mountains.  Xeither  animal  has  fair 
play,  and,  indeed,  in  most  instances,  each  one  avoids 
the  other.  The  bull's  power  of  attack  is  weakened 
by  the  shortness  of  the  tether,  while  the  bear,  as 
above  mentioned,  has  scarcely  the  free  use  of  his 
muscles. 

The  bull  invariably  commences  the  attack,  and 
the  immense  power  of  the  bears  fore-arm  is  then 
exemplified ;  for,  raising  himself  on  his  hams,  he 
meets  the  coming  shock  by  literally  boxing  the  bull's 
ears ;  but  this  open-handed  blow  saves  his  entrails, 
and  the  bull  swerves  half  stunned,  while  his  horns 
graze  Bruin's  skin.  But  if  the  bull  approaches  in 
a  snuffing,  inquisitive  kind  of  manner,  the  bear  will 
very  probably  seize  his  enemy's  nose,  and  half  suf- 
focate him  in  his  grip.  The  fight  generally  ends 
without  much  damage  on  either  side,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  neither  of  the  combatants  means  mischief. 

I  was  sleeping  one  night  at  Campo  Seco,  a  mining 
village  in  the  southern  mines,  the  houses  of  which 


228 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


were,  for  the  most  part,  composed  of  canvas,  the 
44  balance,"  as  they  say  here,  being  of  muslin.  The 
camp  was  very  full,  as  on  the  day  previous,  Sunday, 
a  long-expected  fight  had  come  off  between  a  grizzly 
bear  and  a  cinnamon  bear.  I  had  heard  that,  after 
an  uninterrupted  embrace  between  the  two  of  about 
four  hours,  the  grizzly  had  been  declared  the  victor, 
which  was  not  so  extraordinary,  considering  that  he- 
weighed  about  1200  pounds,  and  that  you  could  not 
have  driven  a  tenpenny  nail  through  his  hide,  while 
the  cinnamon's  weight  was  quoted  at  400  pounds.  I 
was  "putting  up"  with  an  acquaintance  who  kept  a 
store  in  a  small  canvas  house,  and  he  having,  with 
true  mining  generosity,  opened  a  bale  of  new  red 
blankets  for  my  temporary  accommodation,  I  was 
soon  asleep.  About  daylight  I  was  awoke  by  what 
I  imagined  to  be  the  moaning  of  a  man  in  pain,  and 
the  occasional  disturbance  of  the  canvas  wall  nearest 
my  sleeping-place  satisfied  me  as  to  the  locality. 
The  moaning  soon  became  deeper,  and  occasionally 
the  canvas  yielded  to  some  heavy  weight  that  pressed 
against  it.  Presently  was  heard  a  smash  of  crockery 
and  a  tremendous  roar ;  upon  which  my  host  started 
up,  and  placing  a  revolver  in  my  hand  and  seizing 
his  rifle,  he  rushed  out  of  the  tent,  vociferating, 
"Come  on!"  Following  him  into  the  adjoining  room, 
which  formed  his  kitchen,  and  occasionally  a  stable 
for  his  old  mule,  my  eyes  at  once  lit  upon  the  cinna- 
mon bear,  whom  my  host  had  provided  with  lodging 
at  the  nightly  charge  of  one  dollar.  The  bear  was 
fortunately  chained  to  a  strong  stake  in  the  centre  of 
the  hut ;  otherwise,  "  all  smarting,  with  his  wounds 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


229 


being  cold,"  he  looked,  judging  from  as  much  of  his 
eyes  as  one  could  distinguish  in  his  swollen  face,  as 
if  it  would  be  grateful  to  him  to  set-to  with  something 
as  much  smaller  than  himself  as  he  was  smaller  than 
his  late  antagonist.  Upon  an  after  inspection  of  his 
chain  I  ascertained  that  its  length  would  have  ad- 
mitted his  gratifying  this  desire  on  my  carcass,  had 
he  tumbled  through  the  canvas  partition  which  had 
separated  us  for  the  night. 

The  weather  being  at  this  time  fine  and  the  roads 
in  good  order,  we  passed,  throughout  the  whole  length 
of  our  journey,  innumerable  wagons  laden  with  win- 
ter provisions  for  the  mines ;  and  droves  of  mules — 
patient  little  brutes,  some  as  small  as  donkeys — stag- 
gering under  barrels  of  liquor  and  cases  as  big  as  them- 
selves ;  each  drove  led,  as  a  matter  of  course,  by  an  old 
white  mare  with  a  bell. 

As  we  neared  the  Stanislaus  River,  distant  thirty 
miles  from  Stockton,  every  one  inside  became  soci- 
able, except  the  Irishman,  whose  jealousy  had  been 
aroused  to  a  fearful  pitch  by  J.  Bellow,  who  enter- 
tained the  fair  Canadian  in  French,  a  language  un- 
known to  her  protector.  During  our  journey  J.  B. 
had  not  been  inactive,  having  already  disposed,  condi- 
tionally, of  sundry  bags  of  sugar  to  the  miners,  and  a 
box  or  two  of  German  cigars  to  the  bear-hunter ;  sam- 
ples of  these  articles  having  been  extracted  from  his 
capacious  pocket.  Crossing  the  river  Stanislaus  at  a 
fordable  spot,  we  pulled  up  at  a  large  wooden  house, 
and  alighted  to  dine  and  wash  off  the  dust  with  which 
we  were  covered. 

The  immense  traffic  carried  on  on  the  roads  that 


230      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


lead  to  the  mining1  regions  affords  an  extensive  field 
for  the  profitable  management  of  houses  of  entertain- 
ment. These  may  be  encountered  at  almost  every 
mile  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  they  vary  in 
size  from  a  wooden  two-story  house  to  the  very  small- 
est kind  of  canvas  shanty. 

There  seems  to  be  a  certain  hour  of  the  day  for 
every  traveler  in  California  to  breakfast,  dine,  or  sup ; 
and  should  he  not  arrive  at  a  roadside  house  at  one 
of  these  specified  hours,  he  will  get  no  meal ;  and 
could  the  traveler  by  any  possibility  be  present  at 
each  and  every  hostel  at  the  same  moment,  he  would 
find  a  stereotyped  bill  of  fare,  consisting,  with  little 
variation,  of  a  tough  beefsteak,  boiled  potatoes,  stewed 
beans,  a  nasty  compound  of  dried  apples,  and  &  jug 
of  molasses.  He  would  then  sit  down  at  the  sum- 
mons of  a  bell  in  company  with  all  the  tagrag  and 
bobtail  of  the  road  who  might  have  congregated  for" 
the  repast  in  question :  and,  if  inclined  to  follow  the 
custom  of  the  country,  he  would,  with  the  point  of 
his  knife  (made  blunt  for  this  purpose),  taste  of  the 
various  condiments,  butter  included,  that  were  ranged 
before  him,  and,  selecting  as  many  of  these  as  were 
suited  to  his  taste,  he  would  pile  them  on  his  plate, 
demolish  them  with  relish,  and  depart  on  his  way  in 
peace.  Travel  where  you  will  in  California,  you  may 
rest  assured  that  of  the  foregoing  will  your  meal  be 
composed,  and  in  nearly  such  a  manner  must  you 
eat  it. 

Dinner  over,  we  mounted  a  strong  spring  wagon 
in  exchange  for  our  covered  coach,  which  had  too 
much  top  hamper  for  the  mountain  trail  we  had  be- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS  231 


fore  us.  We  had  now  six  horses,  all  American,  good 
sound  cattle,  that  had  come  to  California  across  the 
plains,  and  were  well  broken  in  to  crossing  gulches 
and  mud-holes.  We  were  soon  in  a  different  style 
of  country.  Hitherto  we  had  been  crossing  a  level 
track  across  the  Stockton  plain,  interrupted  by  an 
occasional  dive  into  a  dry  gulch ;  now  we  commenced 
at  once  to  ascend  the  hilly  country  which  first  indi- 
cates the  approach  to  the  mining  regions.  The  road 
to  Sonora,  as  indeed  to  most  places  in  this  country, 
has  never  been  laid  out  by  Government,  but  is,  in 
fact,  a  natural  trail  or  path  marked  out  by  the  first 
pioneer  wagons  that  passed  that  way,  deviated  from, 
from  time  to  time,  as  experience  indicated  a  shorter 
cut ;  receiving  no  assistance  from  the  hand  of  man, 
and  encountering  a  vast  number  of  obstacles  from  the 
hand  of  nature. 

For  instance,  we  arrive  at  a  part,  that,  skirting  the 
base  of  a  hill,  presents  a  rapid  declination  to  the 
left,  which  is  a  very  hard  and  rocky-looking  ravine. 
Colonel  Reed  exclaims,  as  he  places  his  foot  on  the 
break,  which  works  from  the  box,  "  Hard  up  to  the 
right!"  upon  which  the  insiders  loll  their  heads  and 
bodies  out  on  that  side  of  the  vehicle  to  preserve  its 
equilibrium.  We  had  to  ''hard  up"  a  great  many 
times  either  to  one  side  or  the  other,  during  which 
time  J.  Bellow  always  considered  it  necessary  to  as- 
sist the  fair  Canadian ;  whereupon  the  Irishman  looked 
fierce  and  talked  large,  but  finally  one  of  the  miners 
told  him,  in  a  quiet  but  unmistakable  manner,  that 
"if  he  didn't  'dry  up'  he'd  chuck  him  out  of  the 
stage."    Whereupon  the  Irishman  did  dry  up  for  the 


232      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


rest  of  the  journey ;  and  shortly  after  arriving  at  So- 
nora  we  heard  of  his  being  detected  attempting  to 
pass  off  bogus,  or  imitation  gold  dust,  and  he  narrow- 
ly escaped  being  lynched  by  the  mob.  In  the  course 
of  the  afternoon  I  obtained  the  box  seat,  and  engag- 
ing the  colonel  at  once  on  the  subject  of  horse-flesh,  I 
soon  obtained  from  him  a  great  amount  of  useful 
knowledge  on  the  subject  of  American  stock,  of  which 
I  am  a  great  admirer.  As  we  neared  Sonora,  the 
colonel's  attention  was  almost  entirely  occupied  by 
his  team,  for  in  many  places  the  trail  led  through 
deep  gulches,  into  which  previous  volcanic  eruptions 
had  showered  an  infinity  of  small  cindery  rocks,  which, 
close  enough  together  to  prevent  wheels  getting  through 
them,  were  just  sufficiently  high  to  capsize  the  cart  if 
the  wheels  went  over  them.  We  arrived  at  the  sum- 
mit of  a  "used  up"  crater,  and,  having  a  long  descent 
of  this  description  before  us,  the  inside  passengers 
were  ordered  out ;  the  break  was  put  on,  worked  by 
the  colonel's  leg  on  the  box.  I  held  on  according  to 
orders.  We  slided  down  in  famous  style,  first  over 
on  one  side  then  the  other,  the  colonel  occasionally 

addressing  his  team  with  "D  you  don't  touch  one 

of  them!"  meaning  the  rocks,  through  which  we  were 
picking  our  way.  But,  near  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
we  got  our  off-wheels  into  a  mud-hole  and  declined 
gently  on  that  side,  a  fine  specimen  of  volcanic  forma- 
tion preventing  the  wagon  from  going  over  altogether. 
The  colonel,  without  hesitation,  made  all  his  passen- 
gers hang  their  weights  to  the  near  side  of  the  wagon, 
and,  sitting  on  my  lap,  with  a  crack  of  the  whip  he 
started  the  whole  concern,  and  sent  it  flying  and 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILL  S. 


THK  SONORA  STAG?:. 


swaying  from  side  to  side  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 
Here  we  pulled  up,  and  the  colonel,  relieving  me  from 
his  weight,  observed,  in  extenuation  of  what  might 
otherwise  have  appeared  a  liberty,  "that  he  was 
*  obliged  to  be  a  little  sarcy  on  this  road." 

Fleas  are  very  prevalent  in  the  southern  mines, 
and  my  first  introduction  to  the  species  was  in  this 
wise.  The  colonel  turned  suddenly  to  me,  his  hands 
being  occupied  with  his  ribbons,  with  "I  guess  there's 
a  flea  on  my  neck ;"  and  I  perceived  on  the  instant 
that  there  was  a  large,  broad-shouldered  insect,  re- 


234      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

freshing  himself  on  the  place  indicated,  in  apparent 
oblivion  of  all  around.  As  in  duty  bound  as  box 
seat,  I  pulled  him  off  and  put  him  to  death,  the 
colonel  remarking,  as  he  nodded  his  thanks,  that  he 
generally  had  three  or  four  of  the  "darned  cattle  to 
put  through"  in  that  fashion  during  the  journey. 

With  so  many  teams  and  wagons  on  so  narrow  a 
trail,  there  is  occasionally  much  disputing  for  the 
right  of  way.  Men  carry  arms  on  the  road  as  a  gen- 
eral rule ;  but  very  seldom  use  any  worse  weapon 
than  their  tongues  in  these  disputes.  In  a  very  awk- 
ward descent  Ave  found  the  road  entirely  and  unneces- 
sarily blocked  up  by  a  wagon,  drawn  by  eight  yoke 
of  oxen.  The  colonel  at  a  glance  recognized  a  team- 
ster with  whom  he  had  previously  had  many  words  on 
the  same  subject,  and  he  opened  fire  by  ordering  him 
to  his  own  side  of  the  road ;  to  which  the  teamster 
sulkily  acquiesced  after  some  delay,  our  driver,  as  he 
passed,  threatening  him  with  a  "lamming"  on  the 
next  convenient  occasion ;  to  which  the  teamster  re- 
plied by  a  promise  of  blowing  the  top  of  the  colonel's 
head  off;  which  so  incensed  the  colonel,  that  he  for- 
got himself,  and  rising  in  his  seat,  solemnly  assured 
the  driver  of  the  ox  team,  that  at  some  future  period 
nothing  should  deter  him  from  "  spiking"  him ;  to 
which  the  driver  replied  with  such  a  shout  of  derision, 
that,  believing  as  I  do  in  the  colonel,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  before  this  the  teamster  has  met  his  fate,  and  is 
a  sjnked  man.  The  colonel  felt  very  "ugly"  for  some 
minutes  after  this,  but  soon  recovered  his  equanimity 
of  temper.  And  here  I  shall  take  leave  of  him,  for 
we  now  approach  Sonora ;  the  sun  was  disappearing 


MOUNTAINS     AND     MOLEHILLS.  235 


behind  the  redwood  trees  that  capped  the  surrounding 
mountains  ;  we  began  to  pass  rapidly  through  mining 
villages  and  mining  populations,  of  which  more  anon, 
and  after  dashing  through  several  bad  places,  in  which, 
as  the  colonel  remarked,  the  best  driver  might  get 
mired,  or  stuck  in  the  mud,  the  town  of  Sonora  ap- 
peared in  sight ;  and  dashing  in  at  full  gallop,  we 
pulled  up  at  the  principal  hotel. 

It  was  dark  when  we  entered  Sonora ;  and  as  the 
habits  of  the  people  here  are  nocturnal,  the  evening 
may  be  said  to  have  commenced  as  we  alighted.  It 
certainly  had  commenced,  for  Greenwich  Fair  might 
be  spoken  of  as  a  sober  picture  of  domestic  life,  com- 
pared to  the  din  and  clamor  that  resounded  through 
the  main  street  of  Sonora.  On  either  side  were  gam- 
bling-houses of  large  dimensions,  but  very  fragile 
structure,  built  of  a  fashion  to  invite  conflagration, 
though  offering  little  of  value  to  the  devouring  ele- 
ment when  the  invitation  was  accepted,  which  it  was 
about  every  other  night  or  so.  In  most  of  these  booths 
and  barns  the  internal  decorations  were  very  glitter- 
ing; chandeliers  threw  a  brilliant  light  on  the  heaps 
of  gold  that  lay  piled  on  each  monte  table,  while  the 
drinking-bars  held  forth  inducements  that  nothing 
mortal  is  supposed  to  be  able  to  resist.  On  a  raised 
platform  is  a  band  of  music,  or  perhaps  some  Ethio- 
pian serenaders,  or,  if  it  is  a  Mexican  saloon,  a  quar- 
tet of  guitars  ;  and  in  one  house,  and  that  the  largest, 
is  a  piano,  and  a  lady  in  black  velvet  who  sings  in 
Italian  and  accompanies  herself,  and  who  elicits  great 
admiration  and  applause  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
the  fair  sex  in  this  region. 


236       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

Each  gambling-house  is  full;  some  are  crowded; 
and  the  streets  are  full  also,  for  it  is  Saturday,  a 
night  on  which  the  miners  flock  into  Sonora,  with  the 
avowed  intention  of  purchasing  necessaries  for  the 
ensuing  week,  and  returning  the  same  night ;  but, 
seduced  by  the  city's  blandishments,  they  seldom  ex- 
tricate themselves  from  its  temples  of  pleasure  until 
very  early  on  the  ensuing  Monday  morning,  when 
they  return  to  their  camps  and  long-toms*  and  soothe 
their  racking  headaches  by  the  discovery  of  chunks  of 
gold. 

The  Mexican  population  preponderates  in  Sonora 
and  its  vicinity,  and  nearly  every  thing  is  stamped 
with  their  nationality.  The  gambling-tables  are  sur- 
rounded by  them  ;  and,  dirty  fellows  as  they  are,  they 
are  very  picturesque  at  a  distance  with  their  slouch 
hats  and  long  serapes.  The  American  population,  be- 
tween whom  and  the  Mexicans  a  rooted  hatred  exists, 
call  the  latter  "  Greasers,"  which  is  scarcely  a  compli- 
mentary sobriquet,  although  the  term  " Greaser  camp," 
as  applied  to  a  Mexican  encampment,  is  truthfully 
suggestive  of  the  filth  and  squalor  the  passing  traveler 
will  observe  there.  Sonora  has  a  large  French  popu- 
lation, and  to  this  Gallic  immigration  is  attributable 
the  city's  greatest  advantages  ;  for  where  Frenchmen 
are,  a  man  can  dine,  which  is  very  important.  The 
"  Trots  Freres  Provencaux"  has  its  namesake  here, 
where  good  cooking  and  excellent  light  wines  are  at 
all  times  to  be  relied  on ;  but  where  Frenchmen  are, 
there  are  also  good  bakers ;  and  there  is,  moreover,  a 
great  deal  of  singing,  and  gayety,  and  good-humor, 

*  Gold-washers. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  237 

which  is  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  coarser  hilarity  ot 
a  generally  very  drunken  population. 

The  long  bar  of  a  saloon  is  always  actively  engaged, 
and  the  bar-keeper  must  be  prepared  for  all  demands 
in  all  languages.  Here  he  serves  a  Mexican  group 
with  agua  diente  ;  now  he  allays  a  Frenchman's  thirst 
with  absinthe,  in  the  pouring  out  of  which  he  displays 
much  art ;  again  he  attends  with  rapidity  to  the  de- 
mands of  four  Americans,  whose  orders  embrace  re- 
spectively, a  "gin-cocktail,"  a  "brandy-straight,"  a 
"claret  sangaree,"  and  a  "Queen  Charlotte;"  these 
supplied,  he  must  respond  with  alacrity  to  the  call  of 
a  cockney  miner,  whose  demand  is  heard  even  above 
the  surrounding  din : 

"Hain't  you  got  no  hale  hor  porter?"* 
J.  Bellow  expounded  a  great  deal  more  than  I  have 
attempted  to  describe,  before  we  had  been  many  min- 
utes at  Sonora.  As  soon  as  we  had  bathed  and  freed 
ourselves  from  the  dust  with  which  we  were  covered, 
and  which,  perhaps  from  its  having  been  ground  off 
an  auriferous  soil,  resembled  a  fine  rich  plate  powder, 
we  dined  at  a  French  restaurant,  and  commenced  our 
perambulations :  not  before  J.  B.  had  conducted  me 
to  his  residence.  This  was  situated  in  the  main 
street,  and  was  a  small  canvas  house  rather  ostenta- 
tiously placed  between  two  glittering  saloons.  The 
interior  consisted  of  one  large  room,  filled  with  stores 
and  provisions,  and  another  very  small  apartment  in 
which  J.  B.  slept.  The  front  of  the  house  was  en- 
tirely occupied  by  black  letters,  more  than  a  foot  in 

*  But  when  a  couple  of  Chinamen  make  a  demand  for  sam-schou, 
then  the  bar-keeper  is  puzzled. 


238       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


length,  which,  so  soon  as  you  got  far  enough  off  to 
read  them  all  at  once,  informed  you  that  Joseph  Bel- 
low carried  on  the  business  of  auctioneer.  In  one  of 
the  saloons,  a  very  interesting  and  well-looking  young- 
girl  was  attending  at  a  part  of  the  bar  where  confec- 
tionery was  sold.  I  should  not  have  supposed  her  to 
have  had  black  blood  in  her  veins ;  but  J.  B.  assured 
me  that  she  had  been  a  slave,  and  had  been  once  sold 
at  New  Orleans  at  a  very  high  price,  which  he  men- 
tioned, and  I  ascertained  this  to  be  true  ;  she  was  free 
now,  but  freedom  had  come  too  late,  I  suspect,  to 
bring  much  value  with  it  to  her.  J.  B.  knew  every 
miner  in  the  place,  and  to  each  he  had  something  to 
say,  and  with  most  he  took  something  to  drink.  It 
was,  "Well,  Jones,  how  did  those  pickles  suit  you?" 
and  if  Jones  disparaged  the  condiments  in  question, 
as  he  probably  did,  it  was,  "Well,  let's  have  a  drink : 

allow  me  to  introduce  my  friend,  Mr.  M  ;"  and 

if  I  had  not  managed  to  elude  him,  I  should  have  had 
to  shake  hands  with  every  man  in  Sonora  on  the  first 
night  of  my  arrival. 

I  had  been  directed  to  a  place  called  Holden's 
Hotel  as  a  sleeping  place.  The  lower  floor  formed 
the  gambling-saloon,  in  which  were  the  Ethiopian 
serenaders  already  alluded  to ;  the  upper  being  con- 
verted, as  I  had  understood,  into  sleeping  apartments. 
On  applying  at  the  bar  for  a  bed,  I  was  requested  to 
pay  a  dollar  and  enter  my  name  on  a  slate  opposite  a 
vacant  number ;  80  it  was.  I  wished  to  go  to  bed, 
and  was  directed  to  mount  the  staircase  and  find  No. 
80  for  myself.  On  reaching  the  second  story,  I  found 
myself  in  a  long  and  dimly-lighted  room  of  the  same 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  2139 


•  dimensions  as  that  below,  and  round  and  about 
which  were  ranged  about  a  hundred  wooden  stretch- 
ers, covered  with  canvas,  and  furnished  each  with 
one  dark-blue  blanket,  and  a  small  bag  of  hay  to  rep- 
resent a  pillow.  It  is  satisfactory  to  me  to  remem- 
ber, that,  so  far  from  expressing  surprise,  I  displayed 
a  stoicism  that  would  have  brought  the  blush  through 
the  vermilioned  cheek  of  a  Pawnee  warrior ;  I  wound 
my  way  through  the  settees,  most  of  which  were  oc- 
cupied, until  I  arrived  at  one  on  the  head  of  which 
was  a  card  bearing  my  number.  A  glance  assured 
me  that  the  bag  of  hay  that  rightfully  belonged  to  me 
was  there,  but  that  the  blanket  was  not.  A  moment- 
ary inspection  further  developed  the  fact,  that  on  all 
the  occupied  stretchers  were  two  or  more  blankets, 
while  the  unoccupied  beds  had  been  denuded  of  this 
covering.  Having  been  educated  as  a  midshipman, 
it  is  needless  to  say  that  to  be  in  possession  of  three 
blankets,  for  it  was  cold,  and  an  extra  bag  of  hay, 
was  the  work  of  a  moment ;  and  making  myself  as 
snug  as  I  could  in  Xo.  80,  I  was  soon  asleep,  not- 
withstanding that  the  chinking  of  the  monte-bankers, 
and  the  noise  of  the  crowd  below,  and  the  calls  for 
brandy-smashes,  and  the  chorus  of  the  serenaders, 
were  by  no  means  "fainter  in  the  distance;*'  and  no 
wonder,  for  close  to  Xo.  80  there  was  a  chink  be- 
tween two  planks,  so  wide  that  I  could  see  "Bones'* 
lolling  out  his  tongue  at  the  public,  as  he  accom- 
panied the  chorus  to  the  popular  song  of  "  Charles- 
town  Eaces." 

I  awoke  about  daylight,  very  chilly,  and  found  that 
my  blankets  had  disappeared.    The  law  of  reprisal 


240      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


had  been  fairly  enforced,  and  one  can  not  always  be 
wide-awake.  It  was  a  comfort  to  me  to  reflect,  that 
he  who  took  the  blankets  took  the  fleas  that  belong- 
ed to  them ;  and  as  these  creatures  feed  about  day- 
light, I  had  the  best  of  it  after  all.  It  was  a  capital 
idea  of  the  landlord's  to  have  all  the  blankets  of  the 
same  color,  for  as  every  man  deposited  his  revolver 
under  his  head  before  retiring  for  the  night,  it  pre- 
vented all  possibility  of  the  joke  becoming  serious. 

As  I  have  already  observed,  the  Spaniards  inclose 
their  wild  horses  in  a  "corral."  Here,  closely  pack- 
ed, the  best  horse  kicks  himself  into  the  best  place, 
and  keeps  it.  These  wholesale  human  dormitories 
are  also  called  corrals,  and  the  principle  is  much  the 
same  as  regards  the  occupant ;  you  must  kick  or  get 
kicked — and,  indeed,  for  that  matter  the  whole  world 
is  conducted  on  much  the  same  principle. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


The  Gold  Mine. — The  Innocence  of  Sonora. — Sunday  in  Sonora. — 
Selling  a  Horse. — Carrying  Weapons. — Bob. — We  leave  Vallejo. 
— We  are  "  Bound  to  Go." — The  Shadow  of  a  Crow. 

September,  1851. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  proceeded  on  horse- 
back with  Joe  Bellow  and  an  engineer  to  the  mine, 
which  was  situated  near  a  mining  village  called  Tut- 
tle-Town.  To  reach  this  spot  we  had  to  cross  a 
table  mountain,  so  covered  with  the  debris  of  for- 
mer volcanic  eruptions,  that  it  was  a  perfect  cinder- 
heap  upon  a  large  scale.  The  ground  reverberated 
as  we  passed  over  concealed  craters,  and  for  two 
or  three  miles  we  were  confined  to  a  foot  pace,  as 
we  picked  our  way  through  the  rough  boulders  that 
lay  half  buried  in  the  earth,  like  a  field  of  winter 
turnips. 

The  Tuttletonians  were  not  actively  employed  at  the 
time  of  our  arrival,  principally  from  the  fact  that  the 
diggings  had  "given  out." 

The  quartz  vein,  however,  was  there,  and  after  a 
day's  inspection,  I  was  satisfied  that  in  external  ap- 
pearance at  least  it  bore  out  the  report  that  Joe  Bellow 
had  given  of  it.  To  the  man  who  wants  more  money 
than  he  has  (and  few  of  us  are  free  from  that  craving), 
the  sight  of  massive  veins  of  rock,  peppered  with 
specks  of  gold,  is  a  trying  spectacle. 

L 


•242 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


As  he  sits  upon  a  boulder  on  the  outcrop,  and 
extracts  a  piece  of  pure  metal  with  the  point  of  a 
knife,  he  is  subject  to  a  thrill  which  I  am  afraid  is 
indicative  of  the  sordid  ideas  of  his  nature — when 
he  descends  the  shaft,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  candle  still 
beholds  the  specks  of  gold,  he  draws  a  long  breath, 
in  mental  contemplation  of  the  wondrous  wealth  be- 
fore him ;  then  when  the  wealthy  seam  is  placed  at 
his  service,  on  terms  so  easy  that  it  appears  quite 
thrown  away,  in  all  probability  he  will  do  as  I  did, 
swallow  the  bait,  hook  and  all.  The  opinion  of  the 
engineer  was  highly  satisfactory,  as  engineers'  opin- 
ions generally  are ;  we  therefore  returned  to  Sonora, 
where  I  plunged  at  once  into  the  subject  of  mining 
statistics.  I  remember  now  how  ridiculously  plain 
the  whole  matter  appeared ;  here  was  the  gold — you 
could  see  it  and  feel  it — well,  all  you  had  to  do  was 
to  get  it  out !  Argument  would  have  been  wasted 
upon  any  thick-headed  fellow  who  looked  upon  the 
matter  in  any  other  light.  But  none  such  existed 
— all  Sonora  was  quartz-mine  mad — and  although  no 
machinery  had  as  yet  reached  this  region,  shafts  were 
being  sunk,  and  adits  cut,  in  every  hill  around  the 
town.  One  mine,  "which  extended  from  the  rear  of 
the  principal  hotel,  was  owned  entirely  by  Cornish 
miners  ;  these  had  sunk  two  deep  shafts,  and  connect- 
ed them  by  a  gallery,  by  which  means  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  vein  were  laid  bare. 

This  vein  was  called  the  "  Englishmen's  mine,"  and 
it  had  not  only  the  merit  of  being  sufficiently  rich  to 
all  appearance  to  justify  the  erection  of  machinery, 
but  it  was  about  the  only  lode  that  had  been  scien- 


MOUNTAINS    AND     MOLEHILLS.  243 


tifically  opened  by  miners,  and  which  was  ready  with" 
out  further  expense  to  supply  any  amount  of  ore.  But 
up  to  the  time  of  my  leaving  the  country,  the  owners 
of  this  vein,  although  Englishmen,  had  not  been  able 
to  exert  sufficient  interest  to  get  it  "looked  at,"  and 
if  this  incident  should  be  read  by  any  victim  who  has 
had  two  and  twopence  returned  to  him  in  exchange 
for  the  sovereign  he  invested  in  California  Mining 
Companies,  let  him  not,  as  he  contemplates  his  "  small 
returns,"  lay  the  blame  on  the  quartz  rock  of  the  coun- 
try, for  I  assure  him  that  the  cause  of  failure  is  much 
nearer  home ;  but  of  this  I  shall  speak  in  its  proper 
place. 

Sonora  is  dependent  for  existence  on  the  surround- 
ing mining  population ;  it  is  a  town  with  a  resi- 
dent population  of  about  three  thousand  souls,  but 
with  accommodation  on  the  corral  principle  for  about 
ten  thousand  more.  Sonora  is  advantageously  situ- 
ated in  one  respect,  inasmuch  as  it  is  irresponsible 
for  the  morals  and  conduct  of  its  floating  population ; 
if  Sunday  is  desecrated  in  Sonora  by  five  thousand 
pleasure-seeking  miners,  Sonora  washes  its  hands  ot 
that. 

Sonora  is  one  large  house  of  entertainment  for 
bona-fide  travelers  ;  and  although  nearly  every  one 
makes  a  point  of  traveling  thither  on  a  Saturday, 
to  have  a  "burst"  on  Sunday,  and  return  in  peni- 
tence on  Monday,  Sonora  washes  its  hands  of  that 
— otherwise  I  should  say  that  Sonora  in  1851  was 
as  loose  a  community  as  was  that  of  San  Francisco 
in  1849. 

No  church  bells  here  usher  in  the  Sabbath  ;  but 


244      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

auction  bells  arouse  the  inhabitants  equally  to  a  full 
sense  of  the  duties  before  them — the  sun  shines  for 
Sonora  on  this  clay  alone,  and  in  accordance  with 
wise  maxims,  the  population  commences  early  to  make 
hay. 

The  miners  prefer  buying  every  thing  at  auction, 
and  although  I  imagine  the  purchasers  suffer  in  the 
long  run  by  this  principle,  the  "loafers"  gain  by  it; 
for  (supposing  you  are  a  loafer)  you  have  only  to  mix 
with  the  crowd  of  bidders,  and  take  out  your  clasp- 
knife  ;  you  can  then  make  an  excellent  meal  from 
the  samples  exposed  to  view,  presuming  always  that 
your  constitution  will  stand  a  mixture  of  salt  butter, 
Chinese  sugar,  pickles,  and  bad  brandy.  Joe  Bellow 
was  an  auctioneer,  and  certainly  he  understood  his 
business.  Long  before  his  sale  commenced  he  would 
place  a  keg  of  butter,  or  a  bag  of  dried  apples,  out- 
side his  store,  and  the  miners  would  surround  these 
luxuries  like  flies.  Joe  Bellow's  object  was  to  get  a 
"  crowd ;"  and  this  accomplished,  the  auction  would 
commence  in  this  style  : 

Joe  Bellow  takes  his  stand  on  a  cask  in  the  midst 
of  his  samples,  and  startles  you  suddenly  with — 
"  And  I'm  only  bid  one  dollar  for  a  dozen  of  mixed 
pickles ;  one  dollar,  one  dollar,  one  doll — try  them, 
gentlemen."  In  the  mean  time  Joe  nods  to  an  imagin- 
ary bidder  in  the  distance,  and  rattles  on,  "  One  and 
a  half,  one  and  a  half,  one  and  h — "  "Doo,"  says  a 
Dutchman,  with  his  mouth  full  of  pickled  gherkin. 
"Two  dollars  I'm  offered  for  a  dozen  of  mixed 
pickles."  "Dos  y  medio,"  says  a  Spaniard,  under 
the  influence  of  a  green  bean.     "Ah!   Senor  Don 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHI  L  L  S.  245 


Pacheco,"  says  Joe,  "son  los  escabeches  d'lnghel-- 
terra,  muy  buenos,  muy  finos ! " 

"Have  I  any  advance  on  two  dollars  and  a  half?" 
"Trois  piastres,"  say  a  French  restaurateur.  "Three 
dollars  I  am  bid  for  a  dozen  of  pickles  that  cost  five 
dollars  in  the  States,  Tenez !  Monsieur  Leon  voici 
des  cornichons  comme  il  faut.  Three  dollars,  three 
doll's,  three  doll's'' — "  Dree-and-a-half, "  says  the 
Dutchman,  to  whom  they  are  finally  knocked  down, 
just  as  an  old  miner  observes  that  "  darn  him  if  his 
knife  ain't  turned  blue  with  the  darned  vitrol  juice  " 
No  description,  however,  can  do  justice  to  the  rapid- 
ity with  which  Joe  Bellow  knocks  down  his  lots,  or 
to  the  easy  impudence  with  which  he  meets  all  dis- 
paraging remarks  from  his  tasters ;  and  such  is  hu- 
man nature,  that  even  in  the  mines,  where  few  sim- 
pletons are  to  be  found,  there  was  no  butter  so  rancid 
but  Joe  Bellow  could  dispose  of  it  on  a  Sunday  by 
means  of  his  volubility  and  soft-sawder!  I  heard  a 
Dutchman  inquiring  very  anxiously  one  day  for  some 
one  in  Sonora  whose  name  he  did  not  know.  "What 
is  he  like  ?"  said  one ;  but  the  Dutchman  was  appar- 
ently not  apt  at  description,  and  no  clew  could  be 
gained;  at  last  he  spluttered  out,  "Tyfel!  I  mean 
dat  man  dat  cries  always  'bickel,  bickel,  bickel,'" 
and  every  body  knew  at  once  that  Joe  Bellow  was 
the  individual  required,  and  directed  the  Dutchman 
accordingly. 

The  auction,  extending  as  it  does  across  the  street, 
will  be  interrupted  most  probably  by  a  Mexican  fu- 
neral procession,  headed  by  a  brass  band,  playing  dole- 
fully ;  scarcely  has  this  filed  by  when  the  same  band 


246       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


will  return  to  an  inspiriting  tune,  accompanied  by 
merr y-andrews  and  torredores,  who  proclaim  the  day's 
amusement  in  the  bull  arena.  A  man  goes  rapidly  by 
on  a  lean  horse  he  is  selling  at  auction ;  he  is  bid 
twenty  dollars  for  a  flea-bitten  roan,  "  Will  any  body 
;ay  twenty-five  ?"  Half-an-hour  elapses,  and  back  he 
comes — will  any  body  advance  on  thirty  dollars  ?  By- 
and-by  he  is  seen  tearing  through  the  street,  scatter- 
ing Joe  Bellow's  pickle-eaters  to  the  right  and  left, 
and,  sending  mud  flying  into  the  sample  keg  of  butter 
— going  for  forty  dollars,  going  for — and  as  he  does 
not  appear  again  upon  the  scene,  it  is  presumed  that 
the  animal  has  either  been  sold  or  withdrawn  until 
the  ensuing  Sunday. 

The  horses  that  are  sold  this  way  are  not  very 
showy,  nor  do  they  fetch  much,  but  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  if  the  high-priced  horses  that  are  occa- 
sionally sold  with  us  on  account  of  their  owners  "go- 
ing abroad,"  were  first  subjected  to  a  four  hours'  gallop, 
over  a  stony  road,  in  presence  of  the  bidders,  many 
of  them  would  be  "  knocked  down"  for  even  less  than 
are  these  Californian  ponies. 

For  these  animals  have  at  least  the  advantage  of 
possessing  four  sound  legs,  and  unless  my  experience 
much  misleads  me,  three  are  as  many  as  you  can 
reasonably  expect  in  any  animal  whose  pedigree  will 
admit  of  a  gentleman  mounting  him.  Civilization 
has  done  for  horses,  what  in  some  instances  it  has 
for  their  masters,  improved  their  exteriors  at  the 
expense  of  a  ruined  constitution.  I  wonder  what 
Choctaw  would  think,  if  he  could  be  made  to  com- 
prehend the  fact,  that  there  were  horses  of  twice  his 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


249 


size  and  strength  who  couldn't  "feed"  without  the 
aid  of  gentian,  just  as  their  masters  take  a  glass 
of  "vermeuthe"  before  dinner  to  "gammon  an  appe- 
tite. " 

In  Sonora,  every  man  carried  arms,  generally  a 
Colt's  revolver,  buckled  behind,  with  no  attempt  at 
concealment.  In  countries  where  men  have  no  pro- 
tection from  the  law,  and  the  vicious  preponderate, 
this  is  necessary..  And  although  it  is  much  to  be 
deplored  that  this  necessity  did  exist,  its  conse- 
quences were  less  deleterious  to  society  than  would 
have  been  expected.  For  the  fear  of  the  law,  in  the 
best  regulated  community,  is  not  so  strong  as  the  fear 
of  sudden  death ;  and  if  quarrels  and  assassinations 
were  rare,  comparatively,  in  the  mountains,  it  was 
owing  to  the  fact  that  every  man  was  able  to  protect 
himself.  It  is  generally  inferred,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  where  all  men  carry  arms,  blood  is  shed 
on  the  first  passionate  impulse,  and  life  is  not  safe. 
This  is  not  so ;  it  is  where  all  carry  arms  that  quar- 
rels are  less  rare,  and  bullying  less  known  than  else- 
where, although  the  population  may  be  more  vitiated 
and  intemperate  than  that  of  other  countries. 

From  the  fact  of  all  men  being  armed,  robberies 
are  less  frequent  in  the  mines  than  would  be  expected, 
and  in  most  cases  where  murders  have  been  perpe- 
trated, the  victims  have  been  unarmed. 

There  are  many  countries  where  the  carrying  of 
defensive  weapons  is  imperative  as  a  preventative 
against  outrage,  but  to  those  who  from  choice  or 
necessity  visit  such  places,  this  Californian  rule  may 
be  of  some  value  : 


250 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


"Never  draw  your  pistol  unless  you  intend  to  use 
it." 

Previous  to  the  last  San  Francisco  fire  I  have 
recorded,  burglaries  were  so  common,  that  it  became 
necessary  to  carry  fire-arms  after  dark,  more  particu- 
larly as  the  streets  were  not  lighted.  An  acquaint- 
ance of  mine  was  walking  late  one  night  through  a 
street  which  was  apparently  deserted,  and  in  which 
one  dim  light  alone  shed  a  sickly  ray  from  over  the 
door  of  a  closed  restaurant.  As  he  reached  this  spot, 
a  man  started  from  the  obscurity,  and  requested  with 
the  politeness  of  a  Claude  Duval  to  know  the  time. 
With  equal  civility,  my  friend  presented  the  dial  of 
his  watch  to  the  light,  and  allowing  the  muzzle  of  his 
revolver  to  rest  gracefully  upon  the  turnip,  he  invited 
the  stranger  to  inspect  for  himself.  Slowly  the  latter 
advanced,  and  the  sickly  ray  gleamed  likewise  on  the 
barrel  of  his  "  six-shooter,"  as  with  some  difficulty 
he  satisfied  himself  respecting  the  time. 

Both  then  prepared  to  depart,  and  for  the  first  time 
the  light  fell  on  their  faces ;  then  these  desperate 
fellows  discovered  that  they  were  no  burglars,  but  old 
acquaintances,  who  had  dined  in  company  on  that 
very  evening. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  part  of  the  world  where 
it  is  prudent  to  look  on  every  man  as  a  rogue  until 
you  know  him  to  be  honest. 

Having  completed  my  mining  calculations  to  my 
entire  satisfaction  (unfortunately),  I  returned  to  Valle- 
jo,  and  on  my  arrival  there  discovered  that  the  order 
for  this  young  city  had  been  countermanded  by  the 
government.    Every  body  was  preparing  for  depart- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


251 


lire,  and  as  the  place  owned  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
writs  were  being  served  in  every  direction.  My  hotel* 
was  placed  under  execution  on  account  of  the  two 
horse-tails  before  mentioned ;  the  law  was  arrayed 
against  me,  but  as  in  Yallejo  the  law's  authority  was 
represented  by  one  man,  and  the  individual  supposed 
to  be  amenable  was  represented  by  another,  the  law 
did  not  always  get  the  best  of  it,  and  as  far  as  my 
own  case  was  concerned,  it  consisted  in  requesting 
the  sheriff  to  leave  the  premises,  which  he  did  gladly 
enough,  having  business  of  his  own  to  look  after. 
Many  of  those  who  come  overland  to  California,  bring 
one  or  two  young  blacks  from  the  plantations  with 
them  ;  these,  of  course,  if  not  previously  freed,  become 
so  on  their  arrival,  but  they  are  in  all  cases  much  at- 
tached to  their  masters,  and  are  very  useful  servants, 
so  much  so,  that  they  assume  great  importance,  and 
begin  to  think  that  nothing  can  be  done  without  them. 
I  was  amused  one  day  at  overhearing  one  of  these 

*  The  reader  will  observe,  if  he  pleases,  that  in  erecting  this  hotel 
I  had  no  view  to  becoming  its  landlord :  had  I  taken  any  situation 
in  it,  it  would  have  been  in  the  capacity  of  "boots,"  which  berth  a 
"  handy  young  man"  can  turn  to  better  account  in  this  country  than 
even  the  head  cook.  That  a  cook's  situation,  with  or  without  tea  and 
sugar,  is  lucrative,  the  following  anecdote  will  attest :  In  '49  the  cap- 
tain of  a  merchant  brig  at  San  Francisco  having  engaged  a  crew,  re- 
gardless of  expense,  in  lieu  of  that  which  had  run  away,  regardless 
of  their  contracts  and  arrears  of  pay,  found  himself  still  in  want  of  a 
cook.  Meeting  a  negro  on  the  beach  he  offered  him  the  situation, 
and  to  the  inquiry  of  the  latter  respecting  salary,  the  captain  said  he 
could  give  but  two  pounds  a  day.  Having  cocked  his  hat,  folded  his 
arms,  and  adjusted  his  legs  as  niggers  do,  this  fellow  laughed  musi- 
cally and  said,  "Dat  if  de  capten  wish  to  hire  heseff  out  for  five 
pounds  a  day  to  fill  dat  occupation,  jes  walk  up  to  the  restaurant  and 
be  would  set  him  to  work  immedienthi."' 


252      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


young  niggers,  who  being  aroused  from  his  sweet 
slumber,  under  a  wagon,  by  his  master's  reiterated 
cries  of  "Bob,"  drew  himself  slowly  out  and  muttered, 
"Bob  here,  Bob  there,  Bob  every  where;  brieve,  by 
Gad,  you  could't  come  to  California  without  Bob." 
"What's  that  you  say,  sir,"  said  his  master,  who 
unluckily  heard  the  last  part  of  the  speech.  There 
was  no  reply,  but  Bob  made  for  the  hills  there  and 
then,  and  his  guilty  conscience  would  not  permit  him 
to  appear  for  three  days,  when  he  returned  very 
thin,  but  set  himself  to  work  so  assiduously,  that  it 
really  did  appear  as  if  nothing  could  be  done  without 
him. 

I  paid  a  short  visit  to  San  Francisco,  and  returned 
with  such  stores  as  I  thought  necessary,  and  with 
these,  Barnes  and  Thomas  started  at  once  for  Tuttle- 
Town. 

Among  these  stores  was  a  bale  of  canvas,  of  which 
I  determined  my  next  Californian  house  should  be 
built,  and  a  barrel  of  gunpowder,  with  which  I  con- 
templated disturbing  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

Howe  had  decided  upon  accompanying  me,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  I  shall  never  regret,  for  he  was  in 
every  respect  an  excellent  companion  to  the  day  I 
parted  with  him.  In  mountain  life,  a  friend  whose 
tastes  are  congenial  to  your  own  is  indeed  an  acquisi- 
tion ;  for  each  happiness  is  doubled  then,  and  let  mis- 
fortune come  as  it  will,  its  sting  is  ever  allayed  by 
the  sympathy  of  one  true  heart  beside  you. 

With  the  "Old  Soldier,"  "Choctaw,"  "Tiger,"  and 
"Bevis,"  we  embarked  late  one  evening  on  board  a 
Stockton  steamboat ;  this  latter  was  naturally  a  slow 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS 


253 


boat,  but  she  managed  to  perform  her  journey  in  as 
good  time  as  the  rest,  for  her  engineer  was  a  famous 
fellow,  who  held  life  cheap,  and  maintained  as  his 
creed  that  "  she  was  bound  to  go  any  how ;"  so  she 
went  any  how,  trembling  fore  and  aft,  with  an  engine- 
room  full  of  steam,  and  a  blaze  from  her  funnel  that 
lit  up  the  banks  of  the  river  on  either  side.  There 
were  few  passengers  on  board,  which  was  fortunate, 
as  there  were  few  sleeping  bunks. 

It  is  not  customary  to  undress  when  seeking  re- 
pose in  these  bunks  ;  in  fact,  decency  forbids  you  do- 
ing so ;  for  they  are  openly  exposed  on  either  side  of 
the  saloon,  and  this  latter  is  generally  filled  up,  for 
the  best  part  of  the  night,  by  card-players. 

A  placard  informs  you  that  "  gentlemen  are  re- 
quested not  to  go  to  bed  in  their  boots  but  as  the 
proprietors  do  not  guarantee  that  your  boots  shall  not 
be  stolen  if  you  take  them  off,  this  request  is  seldom 
complied  with.  I  remember  attending  a  political 
meeting  in  a  little  church  at  Benicia ;  in  each  pew 
was  a  poster,  which  requested  that  you  would  nei- 
ther cut  the  wood-work,  nor  spit  on  the  floor,  but 
the  authorities  had  provided  no  spittoons,  so,  as  a 
gentleman  observed  to  me  while  inside  the  sacred 
edifice,  "What  the  something  was  a  man  to  do  who 
chewed  ?" 

At  daylight  we  were  at  Stockton,  and  landing  our 
horses,  we  were  soon  in  the  saddle  and  making  the 
most  of  the  cooler  part  of  the  day.  Xothing  worthy 
of  mention  occurred  on  our  journey,  excepting  that  at 
the  end  of  forty  miles  our  animals  were  as  fresh  as 
when  they  started.    We  pulled  up  to  dine  at  the 


254      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Stanislaus,  which  river  we  crossed  in  a  ferry.  An 
acquaintance  of  mine  once  crossed  at  this  spot  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  He  was  proceeding  from  one 
digging  to  another,  and  had  three-quarters  of  a  pound 
of  gold  dust  sewn  up  in  his  pantaloons ;  he  was  an 
Englishman,  and  after  the  manner  of  many  of  his 
countrymen,  he  carried  an  umbrella,  which  nothing 
could  induce  him  to  part  with. 

There  was  no  ferry  in  those  days,  and  when  he 
arrived  at  the  banks  of  the  river,  he  determined  to 
swim  across ;  but  then,  his  clothes  and  the  umbrella, 
how  was  he  to  get  these  across,  and  how  could  he  go 
over  without  them  ?  He  was  seized  with  an  idea, 
and  at  once  acted  upon  it ;  extending  his  umbrella, 
he  placed  his  clothes  inside,  and  fastened  a  line  to 
the  handle ;  with  one  end  of  this  in  his  mouth,  he 
plunged  into  the  current,  and  struck  out  manfully 
with  his  boat  in  tow  for  the  opposite  bank.  But  the 
gingham,  like  most  experimental  vessels,  leaked  so 
much  on  her  first  cruise,  that  when  the  centre  of  the 
stream  was  reached,  nothing  could  be  seen  above 
water  but  the  vessel's  mast-head,  which  was  repre- 
sented by  an  ivory  hand  clasping  a  round  ruler.  Now 
the  order  of  things  became  reversed,  for  the  current 
was  strong,  and  having  taken  firm  hold  of  the  um- 
brella, the  question  was  whether  to  go  down  the 
stream  with  it  or  let  it  go.  The  latter  course  was 
adopted,  not  on  account  of  the  gold  dust  or  the 
clothes,  but  from  a  pure  and  unshaken  attachment  to 
the  parachute  itself.  After  some  effort,  not  unattend- 
ed with  danger,  "gingham"  was  safely  brought  into 
port,  but  on  beaching  it,  the  cargo  had  vanished. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


255 


Madam,  our  adventurer  had  a  straw  hat  on  his  head 
with  a  very  narrow  brim,  and  with  this  article  of 
attire  and  his  umbrella,  he  proceeded  for  about  seven 
miles  without  encountering  a  soul,  when  he  reached 
what  had  been  an  encampment.  The  diggers  had 
left,  but  there  was  as  much  second-hand  clothing 
lying  about  as  would  have  furnished  a  regiment. 
Selecting  the  best  of  this  and  washing  it,  my  friend 
was  soon  equipped,  and  went  on  his  way  rejoicing ; 
rejoicing  for  this  reason,  that  although  gold  dust  and 
clothes  had  gone  to  the  bottom,  he  had  not  only 
saved  his  precious  umbrella,  but  had  newly  equipped 
himself  from  a  "  ready-made  clothing  mart,"  with  no 
bill  to  pay. 


256 


MOUNTAINS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


The  road  was  very  dusty  and  the  heat  intense,  bu; 
nothing  seemed  to  tire  our  beasts.  The  last  part  of 
our  journey  consisted  of  a  gradual  ascent,  and  in 
many  places  the  ground  was  covered  with  small 
round  rocks,  that  would  materially  have  impeded  the 
progress  of  most  horses  ;  but  Choctaw  allowed  no  ob- 
stacle to  arrest  his  long  swinging  "  lope,"  and  the  Old 
Soldier,  with  his  tongue  lolling  out  of  his  mouth,  fol- 


OLD  SOLDIER  AND  CHOCTAW. 


lowed  his  protege  unflinchingly.  I  have  sketched 
these  two  worthies ;  the  Old  Soldier,  it  will  be  per- 
ceived (to  show  that  he  has  still  a  kick  left  in  him) 
is  expressing  his  disgust  at  the  shadow  of  a  crow 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  257 

that  is  thrown  on  the  road,  while  Choctaw,  still  sus- 
picious,  plants  his  Indian  legs  among  the  loose  rocks 
with  an  accuracy  really  marvelous.  Before  night  we 
arrived  at  Sonora,  having,  by  a  circuit  that  we  pur- 
posely made,  completed  a  journey  of  nearly  seventy 
miles. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


I  explain  to  the  patient  Reader. — Pioneers. — A  Lady's  Boot. — 
Mainspring. — Mexican  Robbers. — Victims  of  Prejudice. — Works 
on  America. — Two  Pigs. — Power  of  the  Human  Will. 

September,  1851. 

In  less  than  a  fortnight  we  had  a  couple  of  canvas 
houses  erected  at  Tuttle-TWn ;  each  of  these  had  a 
large  fire-place  and  chimney,  built  of  mud  and  stones, 
and  surmounted  by  an  empty  barrel  for  a  chimney-pot, 
after  the  popular  architecture  of  the  mines.  Rowe  and 
I  occupied  the  small  shanty,  while  in  the  larger  one  I 
had  Barnes,  Thomas,  and  a  couple  of  English  miners. 

Our  houses  faced  the  main  street  of  Tuttle-Town ; 
this  at  the  time  was  indicated  by  stakes,  there  being 
as  yet  but  three  buildings  in  the  place.  Higher  up 
the  hill  and  near  the  main  shaft  were  eight  Mexican 
miners,  whom  I  had  hired  for  the  purpose  of  quarrying 
the  ore.  Having  supplied  these  with  about  twenty 
yards  of  canvas,  half  a  dozen  raw  bullock  hides,  an 
unlimited  quantity  of  beans  and  a  frying-pan,  they 
made  themselves  very  comfortable  in  their  own  way. 
I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  I  had  a  canvas  stable 
for  our  four  horses,  not  that  these  required  any  shel- 
ter during  the  warm  dry  nights,  but  simply  because  I 
wished  to  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  losing  twelve  of 
my  party  at  once,  and  finding  some  morning  that  my 
four  horses  and  eight  Mexicans  had  departed  in  com- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  259 


pany.  Most  of  the  Mexicans  of  California  are  from 
Sonora,*  and  horse-stealing  is  a  characteristic  weak- 
ness of  that  country.  These  people  become  such 
adepts  at  this  trade,  that  I  dare  say  if  a  party  of 
them  were  to  visit  New  York,  they  would  steal  the 
woolly  colt  out  of  Barnum's  Museum,  although  to  lure 
a  dead  horse  from  a  man  of  that  gentleman's  acute- 
ness,  would  require  a  great  amount  of  ingenuity  and 
patience. 

Having  now  established  myself  at  the  mines,  it  is 
incumbent  on  me  to  explain  to  the  patient  reader  my 
exact  position  there,  as  otherwise  I  shall  be  accused 
of  having  attempted  to  accomplish  that  for  which  I 
was  incapacitated — a  censure  which  I  do  not  wish  to 
be  applied  to  me  otherwise  than  as  an  author,  in  which 
quality  I  must  perforce  admit  its  truth. 

My  object  at  Tuttle-Town  was  to  test  the  value  of 
the  quartz  vein  there,  and  if,  with  the  assistance  of 
such  miners  as  I  had  engaged,  I  could  satisfy  myself 
that  the  vein  held  out  sufficient  promise  of  remunera- 
tion, it  had  been  agreed  between  myself  and  a  friend 
at  San  Francisco  (he  whose  death  I  have  recorded) 
that  sufficient  machinery  should  be  erected  to  give 
the  ore  a  fair  experimental  trial. 

Amateur  performances  are  seldom  successful ;  and 
whether  he  wishes  to  fatten  short-horn  bullocks  for 
an  agricultural  show,  or  take  the  helm  of  his  yacht  in 
a  race  for  the  cup,  your  amateur,  in  one  way  or  the 
other,  generally  "comes  out  wrong."  "  Chacun  a 
son  metier,"  is  a  motto  more  generally  applicable 
than  we  are  willing  to  admit,  although  there  are  few 
*  In  Mexico. 


260      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

of  us  who  have  not  tried  something  that  we  had  no 
business  with.  Still  man  is  emulous  and  vain,  and 
until  the  end  of  the  world  fat  Muggins  will  waltz,  ig- 
norant Foodie  will  talk,  and  travelers  like  myself  will 
appear  in  print,  and  let  us  appear  ever  so  ridiculous 
to  others,  we  can  not,  and  will  not  acknowledge  that 
"  every  one  to  his  trade"  applies  in  any  degree  to  us. 
But  where  a  new  course  is  opened  for  emulation,  all 
may  start  in  the  race,  and  former  experience  bore  so 
little  on  the  subject  of  the  quartz  mines  of  California, 
and  the  means  of  extracting  the  gold  therefrom,  that 
I  entered  upon  my  new  employment  with  no  more 
difficulties  to  contend  against  than  others  in  the  same 
field.  And  this,  be  it  understood,  should  always  give 
courage  and  confidence  in  a  new  country,  for  although 
a  little  more  retiring  modesty  would  become  both 
Muggins  and  Foodie  (not  forgetting  myself  in  a  lit- 
erary capacity),  the  same  diffidence  in  the  mines  of 
California  would  act  as  a  bar  to  the  research  and 
experience  so  necessary  for  that  country.  And  how- 
ever we  may  fail  in  our  exertions,  we  ought  not  on 
that  account,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  to  be  ridiculed, 
for  the  failure  of  one  brings  experience  to  the  many, 
and  some  one  must  "pioneer"  the  road.  The  pru- 
dent wait  until  the  track  is  clear  and  the  way  is  easy, 
and  when  every  tree  is  blazed  and  every  obstacle  re- 
moved, they  advance  chuckling,  of  course,  as  the 
miner  does  who  follows  the  prospecter ;  thus  the  pio- 
neer and  his  follower  resemble  two  boys,  one  of  whom 
will  not  enter  the  river  until  his  companion  has  tested 
the  temperature  of  the  water  and  the  depth  of  the 
stream. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  261 


The  quartz  mines  of  California  were  discovered  and 
opened  almost  entirely  by  men  who  had  no  previ- 
ous knowledge  of  gold  mining,  therefore  in  many  re- 
spects they  worked  in  the  dark,  and  from  want  of 
capital  their  hard-bought  experience  served  only  to 
benefit  others. 

But  the  more  fortunate  of  these  bands  of  pioneers 
are  now  receiving  an  ample  compensation  for  the  priva- 
tion they  suffered,  the  toil  they  underwent,  and  the  ridi- 
cule with  which  they  were  assailed.  Auriferous  quartz 
has  been  found  in  numerous  cases  to  yield  a  rich  re- 
turn, even  to  the  unscientific  miner  in  California ;  how 
great  then  must  be  the  wealth  amassed,  one  would 
suppose,  by  those  experienced  gentlemen,  who,  with 
capital  at  their  command,  have  been  deputed  by  En- 
glish companies  to  do  the  same  work  on  a  larger  scale. 
Yet  experience  has  proved  that  the  great  mining  cap- 
tains of  the  age  have  nothing  to  laugh  at,  even  in  the 
unsuccessful  efforts  of  such  a  worm  as  I. 

Unity  and  goodwill  had  been  so  long  established 
among  my  little  party,  that  we  were  soon  comfortable 
in  every  respect,  and  actively  employed.  The  vein 
extended  for  about  half  a  mile,  and  the  three  spots  I 
selected  for  exploration  had  each  its  band  of  men  sink- 
ing a  "  prospecting"  shaft. 

Howe  and  I  had  ample  employment  in  superintends 
ing  the  operations,  and  testing  the  samples  of  ore  that 
were  daily  selected  from  each  pit ;  so  with  windlasses 
and  buckets,  crowbars  and  drills,  gunpowder  and  raze 
matches,  pestles,  mortars,  retorts,  and  quicksilver,  we. 
each  of  us  . had  our  occupation,  and  were  happy  as  the 
lay  was  long.    The  quartz  was  sharp  and  cut  like 


262      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


glass,  so  we  wore  deer-skin  "  trowserloons, "  our  beards 
grew,  our  muscles  increased  to  an  alarming  extent,  our 
manners  were  less  toned  down  than  was  usual,  in  fact 
they  were  swaggering,  our  appetites  were  very  large, 
but  for  all  that  we  were  so  happy  that  even  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  "  little  valley"  fell  into  insignificance  before 
those  of  our  Tuttletonian  life ;  and  this  arose  in  a 
great  measure  from  the  fact  that  we  all  entertained 
a  strong  belief,  that  one  day  or  other  our  labor  would 
be  rewarded. 

Who  talks  of  hope  and  disappointment  in  the  same 
breath  ?  Shall  a  day  of  the  one  efface  or  tarnish  the 
recollection  of  a  year's  happiness  brightened  by  the 
other? — Not  with  me  while  I  live.     "  See  here,  now, 


THE  LADY  S  UOOT. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


263 


boys,"  said  a  Tuttletonian  miner,  one  day,  as  he  held 
up  to  an  admiring  crowd  a  small  and  well-constructed 
lady's  boot.  "  The  chunk  ain't  found  that  can  buy 
this  boot  ;  'taint  for  sale,  no-how  /" 

A  lady's  boot  to  you,  or  I,  reader,  is  not  much  un- 
less we  are  married  and  have  to  pay  for  a  pair  occa- 
sionally ;  but  so  long  as  we  can  associate  our  hopes 
of  earthly  happiness  for  the  future  with  some  emblem 
held  out  to  us  even  at  arm's  length,  as  was  the  miner's 
"  lady's  boot,"  we  may  go  on  our  way  to  work  as  did 
his  gratified  spectators  more  cheerfully  and  light  of 
heart. 

When  a  man  recalls  some  sensation  with  more  than 
ordinary  pleasure,  it  is  very  usual  for  him,  particu- 
larly if  he  is  a  writer  of  travels,  to  ask  you  if  you  have 
experienced  the  same.  Says  one  "reader,  did  you  ever 
witness  a  sun-set  from  Chimborazo  ?"  Says  the  other 
"reader,  did  you  ever  eat  a  mangostein "?"  Unfortu- 
nately the  reader  is  unable  to  reply  until  the  descrip- 
tion of  these  wonders  has  been  perpetrated.  I  have 
alluded  to  this  custom  in  excuse  for  asking  the  reader 
if  he  ever  groomed  his  own  horse  and  derived  pleasure 
from  it  ?  If  not,  I  recommend  him  after  he  has  man- 
aged Chimborazo  and  the  mangostein  to  try  it.  Main- 
spring's coat  was  daily  rubbed  by  me,  when  my  own 
coat  hung  neglected  on  a  peg ;  but  the  fact  is,  he  was 
a  very  handsome  horse,  and  in  the  mines  such  a  rarity 
is  a  passport.  With  the  natural  vanity  of  man,  I 
found  that  Mainspring  attracted  more  attention  than 
I  did,  so  I  allowed  my  beard  to  run  to  seed,  and 
bestowed  all  my  pains  in  beautifying  the  dumb  ani- 
mal. 


264       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


You,  madam,  who  have  viewed  with  pleasure  the 
envious  glances  that  have  been  cast  on  the  lovely 
bonnet  you  wore  at  Chi  s wick,  will  understand  the 
emotions  I  felt  when  miners  left  their  pits  and  claims 
to  pronounce  with  less  spleen  upon  the  beauties  of  my 
steed. 

The  Old  Soldier  and  Choctaw  were  seldom  groomed ; 
the  mud  in  which,  of  course,  they  wallowed,  was  gen- 
erally removed  from  their  coats  with  a  spade,  and  on 
grand  occasions  they  were  finished  off  with  a  broom. 
Howe  had  a  cream-colored  mare  that  was  considered 
by  the  miners  "some  pumpkins,"  an  expression  which 
indicates  great  merit,  and  is  equally  applied  to  a  chew 
of  tobacco,  or  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

We  generally  rode  into  Sonora  of  an  evening,  for 
we  were  always  in  want  of  something,  and  our  drills 
and  pick-axes,  in  particular,  soon  became  blunted  by 
the  hard  quartz,  and  had  to  be  tempered  again  by  the 
Sonora  blacksmith.  We  would  return  by  moonlight, 
and  had  always  to  pass  through  a  camp  of  Mexicans' 
of  the  worst  character:  these  fellows  not  only  cast 
their  covetous  glances  on  our  horses  in  open  daylight, 
but  on  more  than  one  occasion  they  attempted  at  night 
to  entrap  us  into  a  position  that  would  have  left  us 
unable  to  defend  either  our  lives  or  our  beasts.  They 
had  a  quantity  of  curs  in  their  camp,  and  these,  as  we 
rode  through  in  the  moonlight,  would  rush  out,  being 
set  upon  us,  and  worry  us  on  all  sides  with  their  yelp- 
ing ;  they  would  follow  us,  howling,  for  some  distance, 
and  our  natural  impulse  was  to  shoot  them  with  our 
revolvers,  for  they  were  like  wolves  ;  but  we  were  soon 
wise  enough  to  refrain  from  discharging  our  fire-arms, 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


265 


for  we  should  thus  have  left  ourselves  defenseless, 
against  the  half-dozen  mounted  ruffians  we  would  en- 
counter higher  up  the  road,  waiting,  undoubtedly,  for 
this  result. 

Two  armed  white  men  need  fear  little  interruption 
from  Mexicans,  provided  a  proper  amount  of  caution 
is  exercised,  and  no  sign  of  trepidation  is  evinced. 
But  their  first  principle  is  to  attempt  to  throw  you 
off  your  guard,  therefore  the  best  rule  in  meeting  such 
men  is  to  insist  at  once  that  they  do  not  approach 
within  the  distance  at  which  they  can  throw  the  deadly 
lasso,  a  weapon  more  formidable  in  the  dark  than  fire- 
arms. Whenever,  singly  or  with  Howe,  I  met  a  party 
of  mounted  Mexicans  in  the  mines,  I  drew  up  on  one 
side  of  the  road  until  they  passed,  and  after  dusk  I 
took  the  precaution  of  warning  them  to  a  respectful 
distance ;  nor  was  this  unnecessary,  for  the  Mexicans 
encamped  round  Tuttle-Town  committed  many  mur- 
ders, and  my  horse  alone  was  sufficient  inducement 
for  them,  independent  of  the  sums  of  money  that  the 
necessities  of  my  party  often  required  me  to  carry  of 
a  night. 

One  morning,  on  entering  the  canvas  stable  that 
adjoined  my  hut,  I  discovered  that  Mainspring  was 
gone  ;  his  halter  had  been  cut,  and  there  was  no  doubt 
that  he  had  been  stolen.  Fortunately  a  drizzly  rain 
was  falling  sufficient  to  moisten  the  ground,  and  this 
had  probably  set  in  about  an  hour  after  the  thieves 
had  removed  the  horse  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  With- 
out some  knowledge  of  Mexican  cunning,  it  would 
have  been  useless  to  have  attempted  to  track  a  stolen 
horse  of  Mainspring's  fleetness.    We  presumed,  at 

M 


266 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


starting,  that  he  had  been  taken  over  the  table  mount- 
ain in  our  rear,  as  his  footprints  could  leave  no  trace 
behind  for  some  miles  in  that  direction. 

Rowe  and  I  then  started  on  the  search,  and  after 
crossing  the  mountain  we  halted  at  a  gulch.  With 
some  trouble  we  discovered  at  last  that  the  horse  had 
crossed  here,  for  he  had  one  cutting  shoe,  the  heel  of 
which  left  a  slight  imprint ;  from  the  gulch  we  traced 
him  to  a  tree,  and  here  the  ground  being  covered  with 
dead  leaves  and  brushwood,  all  sign  was  lost.  Acci- 
dent favored  us,  for  a  few  miles  further  on  we  again 
hit  his  trail  at  another  gulch,  but  here  he  appeared  to 
be  returning.  A  close  inspection,  however,  proved 
that  his  shoes  had  been  turned,  for  the  heel  of  the 
cutting  shoe  was  on  the  wrong  side ;  still  we  lost  him 
again  among  the  trees,  and  as  evening  advanced  we 
began  to  despair.  But  soon  we  arrived  at  a  Mexican 
encampment,  and  here,  by  some  stupid  oversight  on 
the  part  of  the  thieves,  Mainspring's  rug  was  left  lying 
exposed  on  the  ground.  All  had  protested  their  igno- 
rance of  the  matter  on  our  arrival,  but  now  with  the 
blanket  staring  them  in  the  face,  they  soon  produced 
the  horse  from  a  distant  tent  in  the  bushes,  and  as- 
sured us  that  a  man  had  left  it  there  that  morning, 
and  had  gone  on  his  way. 

But  a  Mexican  who  was  sleeping  in  a  tent  in  mud- 
splashed  clothes  was  the  thief,  I  knew:  he  started 
when  I  roused  him  up  suddenly  and  held  the  blanket 
before  his  eyes  ;  but  he  swaggered  out  in  apparent  un- 
concern, and  lighting  a  cigarito  with  admirable  sang- 
froid, he  began  to  play  at  cards  with  one  of  the  others. 
I  was  too  glad  to  recover  Mainspring  to  care  about 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  267 


troubling  myself  by  taking  the  Mexican  back  to  Tut- 
tle-Town  on  suspicion,  and  I  dare  say  lie  was  not  sorry 
when  Howe  and  I  departed,  for  a  horse-thief  in  the 
mines  has  not  much  chance  of  his  life  when  detected, 
and  of  this  he  is  fully  aware.  It  has  ever  puzzled  me 
on  reflection,  that  where  so  much  pains  had  been  taken 
to  remove  all  trace  of  the  horse,  the  glaring  evidence 
of  the  theft  should  be  left  forgotten  in  open  daylight ; 
and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  horse-thieves  con- 
sidered themselves  safe  from  pursuit,  and  were  rather 
surprised  at  our  appearance.  From  that  day  our  horses 
were  chained  and  padlocked  every  night. 

The  American  residents  of  our  mining  village  were 
very  sociable  and  kind,  and  the  good  feeling  they 
evinced  toward  us  added  materially  to  our  comfort. 

Englishmen  and  Americans  are  for  the  most  part 
the  victims  of  prejudice,  and  when  they  meet,  too 
often  each  one  expects  to  find  in  the  other  one  who 
is  prepared  to  depreciate  and  misunderstand  him  and 
his  country.  They  approach  each  other  like  two 
strange  dogs  who  stand  head  and  tail,  with  brist- 
ling hairs,  rubbing  their  ribs  together  with  an  angry 
scowl,  for  no  reason  on  earth  except  that  they  are 
two  dogs. 

It  may  have  been  my  fortune  to  have  effaced  some 
false  impressions  respecting  my  countrymen  from 
American  minds ;  but,  at  all  events,  I  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  divesting  myself  of  much  prejudice  by 
a  social  intercourse  with  them. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  Americans  are  great  boast- 
ers, and  I  grant  that  retiring  modesty  is  not  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  race ;  but  it  is  right  to  remember, 


268      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


that  for  a  long  period  the  Americans  have  been  rather 
depreciated  than  otherwise,  and  unmerited  depreciation 
will  probably  induce  a  habit  of  boasting  more  than 
any  thing  else.  When  we  tell  our  friend  reprovingly 
not  to  blow  his  own  trumpet,  we  presume  that  such 
merit  as  he  possesses  will  be  fully  acknowledged. 
Public  opinion  has  not  until  latterly  dealt  fairly  with 
the  Americans  in  all  respects,  and  it  is  perhaps  for 
this  reason  that  they  sound  their  own  praises  with 
stentorian  lungs ;  if  they  have  not  been  justified  in 
doing  so  they  have  at  least  practically  overturned  that 
old  saw  of  our  revered  ancestors,  that  "  those  who  talk 
most  do  least." 

American  character  is  necessarily  very  varied,  and 
nowhere  is  this  more  clearly  perceived  than  in  Cali- 
fornia, where  all  classes,  freed  in  a  great  measure 
from  conventional  restrictions,  appear  in  their  true 
garbs.  I  do  not  presume  to  write  of  American  char- 
acter, I  can  only  record  my  experience  of  individ- 
uals as  I  have  seen  them  in  the  shifting  scenes  of 
colonial  life ;  but  I  think  that  I  have  had  sufficient 
intercourse  with  Americans  of  all  grades  to  warrant 
my  asserting  that  foreign  historians  have  too  often 
unfairly  paraded  their  faults,  while  their  own  writ- 
ers have  in  many  instances  erred  equally  on  the  side 
of  their  virtues ;  I  believe  therefore  that  there  is  am- 
ple room  on  our  book  shelves  for  one  fair  unpreju- 
diced work  on  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  Man  is  ordained  to  be  charitable,  and  au- 
thors are  not,  that  I  am  aware  of,  exempted  from  this 
command ;  if,  therefore,  in  writing  of  a  people,  a  lit- 
tle more  pains  were  taken  to  discover  their  virtues, 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  269 


and  a  less  wholesale  principle  was  adopted  in  regard 
to  the  record  of  their  vices,  great  good  might  be  done 
to  the  nation  written  of  and  no  harm  that  I  know  of 
would  accrue  to  the  author.  The  man  who  can  kin- 
dle a  warmer  feeling  in  one  nation  toward  another 
by  displacing,  with  a  little  judicious  reasoning,  the 
prejudices  that  may  affect  the  latter,  waves  a  stronger 
wand  than  the  most  bitter  satirist  that  ever  lived  and 
wrote. 

Our  vices  are  generally  uppermost ;  this  was  exem- 
plified in  the  "Old  Soldier,"  for  your  first  acquaint- 
ance with  that  animal  might  possibly  be  cemented, 
as  it  were,  by  a  kick  in  the  ribs,  or  a  bite  on  the 
shoulder;  but,  recovered  from  this  shock,  the  longer 
you  knew  him  the  better  you  liked  him ;  and  the  old 
fellow,  when  once  satisfied  that  you  were  his  friend, 
would  appear  to  you  in  a  very  different  light  than 
when  under  the  influence  of  suspicion,  justified,  I'll  be 
bound,  by  the  experience  of  his  life,  he  attempted  to 
do  you  a  mischief. 

I  do  not  wish  to  compare  this  poor  beast  with  a 
man,  much  less  a  nation,  but  the  simile  serves  me 
so  far  as  to  illustrate  the  fallacy  of  first  impressions 
as  applied  either  to  man  or  horse ;  yet,  while  all  ac- 
knowledge this  for  a  truism,  we  find  that  half  the 
books  of  travels  that  analyze  so  fearlessly  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  visited  are  valueless  as  commen- 
taries on  them,  either  from  hastiness  or  unfairness  of 
opinion,  on  the  one  side,  or  laboriously-studied  par- 
tiality on  the  other.  But  seldom  does  the  work  of  an 
alien  run  into  this  latter  fault,  and  most  books  on 
America  remind  me  of  a  volume  of  Veterinary  Sur- 


270      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


geiy,  of  which,  open  what  page  you  will,  you  are  met 
with  a  description  of  a  curb  or  a  splint,  a  spavin  or  a 
ring-bone,  with  the  author's  directions  for  a  complete 
cure ! 

*  *  *  *  *  *  ,4ft  -  *  . 

How  small  a  trifle  will  disturb,  at  times,  the  even 
current  of  one's  life ;  let  me  recall  the  sole  drawback 
to  our  otherwise  complete  contentment  at  Tuttle- 
Town. 

One  of  our  neighbors  had  two  pigs,  and  these,  like 
all  four-footed  animals  in  the  mines,  had  a  roving 
commission,  and  lived  by  nocturnal  plunder.  This 
practice  we  could  bear  with,  as  much  from  our  rever- 
ence for  pork,  as  from  the  fact  that  it  was  a  free 
country  for  man  or  pig.  But  these  wretches  took  a 
fancy  to  scratching  themselves,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
against  the  canvas  shanty  that  Rowe  and  I  inhabited ; 
there  were  plenty  of  posts,  but  they  preferred  a  shanty ; 
now,  as  the  only  hard  substances  they  could  find  were 
our  recumbent  bodies,  as  we  pressed  against  the  can- 
vas wall,  the  pigs  scratched  themselves  against  us, 
and  as  this  occurred  for  about  four  hours  every  night, 
accompanied  by  the  satisfactory  grunts  which  the 
temporary  alleviation  of  cutaneous  disease  elicits  from 
the  pig,  our  rest  was  continually  being  broken  upon. 
We  kept  water  boiling,  and  waking  up  suddenly  we 
would  scald  them ;  we  harpooned  them  with  crowbars, 
damaged  the  vertebras  of  their  backs  with  the  sharp 
edges  of  spades,  fired  blank  cartridges  under  their 
noses,  and  scarified  them  with  a  deadly  fire  of  broken 
bottles ;  but  to  no  purpose,  they  would  come  back 
and  rub  us  out  of  bed  again,  regardless  of  any  injury 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


271 


we  could  do  them.  The  owner  of  them  was  absent, 
and  there  was  no  "pound;"  honor  forbade  our  shoot- 
ing them,  and  we  never  could  catch  them  to  "  corral" 
them.  So,  for  the  best  part  of  a  twelvemonth,  we 
were  nightly  roused  up  by  these  intruders,  who  itch- 
ed so  badly  that  they  rubbed  our  frail  tenement  out 
of  the  perpendicular.  Soon  they  had  a  litter,  and 
then,  while  they  still  rubbed,  the  little  pigs  would 
get  under  the  house  and  squeal,  and  although  we 
kept  a  long  pole  with  a  steel  fork  attached  to  it,  with 
which  we  tried  to  "grain"  them,  as  we  do  dolphins 
at  sea,  yet  it  was  to  no  purpose,  and  they  did  as  they 
liked  with  us  up  to  the  day  we  left.  At  first  we 
used  to  set  the  dogs  at  them,  but,  being  savage  com- 
batant pigs,  rendered  reckless  by  a  free  life,  they 
would  stand  at  bay  with  their  sterns  bulging  against 
our  tent,  which  they  evidently  mistook  for  the  rock 
which  was  "to  fly  from  its  firm  base  as  soon  as 
they,"  which  it  nearly  did  on  one  or  two  occasions  ; 
moreover,  the  dogs  had  enough  to  do  to  keep  off  six 
donkeys  and  about  a  dozen  curs,  who  were  generally 
very  musical  when  the  moon  was  up. 

I  mention  this  circumstance  because  we  hear  so 
much  of  the  power  of  the  human  will,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied that  a  pig's  will  is  stronger ;  and  it  is,  moreover, 
not  only  a  traveler's  duty  to  record  a  fact,  but  he  is 
expected  likewise  to  discover  something  new. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Yield  of  Gold. — Its  Duration. — Mormon  Gulch. — The  Distribution 
of  Gold. — Tunneling. — Damming  Rivers. — Holden's  Garden. — 
Energy  in  the  Mines. — Quartz  Mines. — Quartz  Mining  Successful. 
— The  Author  gets  out  of  his  Depth. 

October,  1851. 

The  diggings  in  our  immediate  vicinity  were  not 
actively  worked,  as  their  was  not  sufficient  water 
for  the  purpose ;  this,  however,  was  shortly  to  be 
remedied,  for  companies  composed  of  miners  were  at 
work  in  every  direction,  conducting  water  from  the 
rivers  to  the  dry  diggings ;  and  at  this  moment  new 
plots  of  auriferous  soil  are  daily  being  added  to  the 
area  of  44  paying  ground"  in  the  mines  by  the  artificial 
introduction  of  the  water  which  nature  has  denied  to 
them.  Most  of  these  companies  have  received  hand- 
some returns ;  the  charge  to  each  miner  supplied  with 
water  being  about  two  shillings  a  day. 

This  affords  another  instance  of  the  successful  em- 
ployment of  capital  originally  procured  by  gold  dig- 
ging ;  and  if  you  wanted  a  few  shares  in  one  of  these 
young  companies,  you  could  procure  them  without 
money,  for  by  taking  your  coat  off  and  helping  to  cut 
the  ditch,  you  could  in  six  months  work  yourself  into 
a  very  respectable  stockholder.  I  suppose  each  trav- 
eler who  returns  to  his  home  from  California,  whether 
he  is  an  Englishman  or  a  Sandwich  Islander,  is  ques- 
tioned on  all  sides  as  to  whether  the  "diggings"  are 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  273 


nearly  exhausted "?  This  is  easy  to  answer  in  the 
negative,  but  then  follows  a  query  far  more  difficult 
to  reply  to,  viz.,  "  When  will  they  be?"'  Conjecture 
must  necessarily  have  much  weight  in  determining  this 
problem,  statistics  of  the  past  or  present  yield  of  the 
placers  being  almost  valueless  for  that  purpose.  Yet 
this  should  be  a  question  of  very  great  financial  im- 
portance, and  not  alone  as  regards  the  probable  dura- 
tion of  the  twelve  million  sterling  now  annually  ex- 
ported from  California.  For  we  must  consider  how 
far  we  are  sustained  by  facts  in  presuming  that  the 
present  yield  of  this  country  will  be  doubled,  nay, 
quadrupled  annually  before  the  surface-soil  is  left 
again,  as  once  no  doubt  it  was,  valueless  in  gold. 
Of  course,  the  gold  mines  must  some  day  be  ex- 
hausted ;  let  us  see,  then,  how  far  we  are  justified  in 
supposing  this  day  to  be,  comparatively  speaking, 
distant  as  regards  California.  I  offer  the  following 
remarks  with  the  avowal  that  they  are  worthy  only 
as  the  crude  opinions  of  one  who  has  had  nearly  all 
that  practically  bears  upon  the  subject  brought  before 
his  notice,  but  as  they  will  necessarily  be  dull  and 
heavy  as  a  blue  book,  I  recommend  the  generality  of 
those  who  have  followed  me  thus  far,  to  skip  this 
chapter,  which  they  probably  will  do  with  all  the  rest 
of  the  book. 

For  you,  reader,  who  have  sent  to  the  circulating 
library  for  the  "Newcomes,"  and  have  had  this  book 
forwarded  you  as  a  "new  work"  (the  " Xewcomes" 
being  out),  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  peruse  in  your 
present  state  of  disgust  a  chapter  on  gold  mines : 
I  therefore  dedicate  this  "paper"  to  two  individuals, 

M* 


274      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


one  of  whom  shall  be  the  gold  mine  victim  before 
alluded  to,  as  contemplating  the  two  and  twopence 
he  received  for  his  invested  sovereign,  and  the  other 
is  that  unknown  man,  who,  in  the  ennui  of  a  long 
sea  voyage,  shall  peruse,  mayhap,  as  I  have  done 
before  to-day,  the  pages  with  which  his  trunk  is  lined. 

Mormon  Gulch  was  the  name  of  a  ravine  that  was 
about  a  hundred  yards  from  my  tent,  it  was  report- 
ed to  have  been  the  wealthiest  digging  in  the  mines, 
and  according  to  rumor,  half  an  hour's  work  with 
a  clasp  knife  or  tin  spoon  had  invariably  enriched 
any  of  the  fortunate  Mormons  who  first  discovered 
it  in  1848.  Since  those  days,  however,  the  earth,  or 
stones  rather,  for  these  preponderate,  had  been  turned 
over  again  and  again,  each  time  yielding  less,  until 
the  soil  ceased  to  return  sufficient  remuneration  to  the 
only  process  of  labor  that  could  be  at  that  time  ap- 
plied to  it.  But  before  now  water  has  been  con- 
ducted there,  and  by  the  more  wholesale  process  of 
sluice-washing,  the  gulch  claims  are  again  up  in  the 
market. 

By-and-by  we  shall  hear  of  the  sluice-washing  com- 
panies having  deserted  the  gulch,  and  perhaps  for  a 
short  period  the  red  stony  gravel  will  lie  idle ;  but  soon 
steam-engines  and  some  process  of  securing  the  gold 
by  amalgamation  with  quicksilver,  will  brighten  up  old 
Mormon  Gulch  again,  and  there  is  no  knowing  how 
remote  the  day  is,  when  its  red  banks  shall  for  once 
and  all,  finally  and  for  the  twentieth  time,  be  reported 
to  have  "given  out." 

The  history  of  Mormon  Gulch,  and  the  future  I 
have  sketched  for  it,  is  applicable  to  every  ravine  in 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  275 


the  country,  so  far  as  this,  that  each  auriferous  flat 
or  gulch  will  be  subjected  to  certain  processes,  until 
at  last  the  appliances  of  steam  and  science  shall  have 
robbed  every  square  foot  of  earth  of  the  treasure  it 
contains. 

Now,  if  all  the  gold  territory  of  this  country  had 
been  seized  upon  and  worked  at  the  time  that  Mor- 
mon Gulch  was  first  discovered,  we  might  form  some 
estimate  of  the  time  when  machinery  should  be 
brought  to  bear  generally  upon  the  placers ;  but  as 
yet  we  can  not  ascertain  the  amount  of  gold-bear- 
ing soil  that  exists  ;  for  not  only  are  fresh  diggings 
still  brought  to  light,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  original 
discoveries,  but  we  have  ample  proof  that  plenty 
lies  beyond  in  the  direction  of  the  Sierra  Xevada, 
which  now,  from  the  presence  of  hostile  Indians,  can 
not  be  disturbed,  and  indeed,  for  the  present,  is  not 
wanted. 

The  number  of  those  who  are  now  actually  collect- 
ing gold  by  mining  in  California,  may  be  computed  at 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  men. 

The  obstacles  that  are  alike  presented  by  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  wet  and  dry  seasons,  will  not  admit, 
probably,  of  these  miners  working  for  more  than  two 
hundred  days  in  the  year,  and  the  average  daily  sum 
amassed  by  each  man,  may  be  fairly  quoted  at  three 
and  a  half  dollars,  or  fifteen  shillings. 

This  will  give  an  annual  yield  of  twenty-one  mil- 
lions sterling  from  California,  and  I  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  this  sum  is  obtained,  although  it  does  not 
(for  many  reasons)  appear  in  the  reported  exports  of 
specie  from  the  country. 


276      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Now,  if  this  sum  can  be  annually  realized  by  the 
exertions  of  comparatively  so  small  a  body  of  men, 
who  have  even  at  the  latest  dates  no  better  plan  of 
securing  the  gold  than  by  a  rude  system  of  washing, 
what  may  we  expect  when  machinery  is  employed, 
and  labor  concentrated  ? 

Those  portions  of  the  placer  fields  that  would  re- 
ward manual  labor  with  less  than  one  or  two  dollars 
a  day,  are  as  yet  unmolested,  for  as  yet  the  ruling- 
rates  of  wages  in  the  mines  is  higher,  being  guided  by 
the  average  yield.  Therefore  it  is  difficult  to  place  a 
limit  on  the  amount  of  auriferous  earth  that  now,  re- 
jected by  the  miner,  will,  by  the  proper  application 
of  machinery  and  the  reduction  of  labor,  eventually 
produce  a  vast  return.  There  is  scarcely  a  hillside 
but  gives  evidence  of  the  existence  of  gold,  but  al- 
though this  soil  will  not  at  present  repay  manual 
labor,  no  one  can  suppose  that  the  metal  will  be  al- 
lowed to  rest  there  undisturbed. 

The  distribution  of  gold  in  the  soil  is  most  eccen- 
tric, and  this  is  attributable  probably  to  three  causes:* 
firstly,  that  for  the  most  part  it  was  disintegrated  from 
the  matrix  during  the  stupendous  volcanic  action  to 
which  all  the  gold  territory  of  California  has  been 
subjected;  secondly,  that  it  has  been  carried  to  and 
fro  by  vast  masses  of  water,  the  result  of  heavy  rains, 
or  more  probably  of  heavy  falls  of  snow  in  the  mount- 
ains, that  have  suddenly  melted  and  carried  all  before 
them  ;  finally,  from  the  land-slips  and  accumulations 
of  upper  soil  that  must  necessarily  result  where  steep 

*  Independent  of  the  probability  of  there  having  been  more  than 
one  formation. — See  Appendix. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  277 


hills  of  gravel  have  been  for  ages  subjected  to  the 
sudden  transitions  of  wet  and  dry  seasons. 

I  tread  very  carefully  whenever  I  find  myself  on 
the  geologist's  ground,  bearing  in  mind  my  scientific 
friend  at  ^Murderer's  Bar,  who  reached  the  bottom  so 
much  quicker  than  he  desired ;  therefore  I  can  only 
suggest ;  and  the  two  readers  to  whom  this  discourse 
is  dedicated,  while  they  deplore  the  ignorance  which 
prevents  me  leading  them  through  a  labyrinth  of  for- 
mations and  strata s,  must  place  something  to  my  credit 
on  the  score  of  modesty. 

•  Wherever  gold  is  discovered  in  California,  particles 
of  quartz  are  found  adhering  to  it  more  or  less  ;  this 
quartz,  even  when  found  at  great  depths,  is  generally 
rounded  by  the  action  of  water,  for  quartz,  when  de- 
tached by  violent  action,  is  naturally  angular,  and  in- 
clined to  splinter,  and  from  its  hardness  it  must  require 
ages  to  give  it  the  form  of  a  pebble,  by  the  slow  pro- 
cess of  grinding  it  receives  in  a  comparatively  dry 
mountain  gorge.  This,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the 
facts  that  the  gold  is  found  now  on  the  surface,  and 
now  low  down  resting  on  the  bed  rock,  here  forced 
into  clefts  of  granite,  and  again  in  clusters  of  small 
pear-shaped  nuggets,  as  if  the  metal  had  been  ejected 
by  intense  heat,  and  had  dripped  from  the  volcanic 
boulders  that  lie  scattered  around  ;  tends  to  bear  out 
the  supposition  that  disintegrated  gold  has  been  cast 
into  places  that  time  and  accident  alone  can  reveal, 
and  that  the  original  opinion  that  the  gold  was  on  the 
surface  only  no  longer  holds  good. 

Tunneling  has  already  been  applied  to  rich  hills  in 
the  mines  with  great  success,  and  this  fact  alone  is 


278      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  great  importance,  in  so  far  that  it  leaves  us  power- 
less to  place  a  limit  on  the  amount  of  auriferous  soil 
that  is  imbedded  in  the  small  round  hillocks  that  ex- 
tend over  a  space  of  nearly  four  hundred  miles,  north 
and  south. 

Where  ingenuity  aided  by  science  is  at  fault,  a  very 
slight  clew  will  often  accidentally  lead  to  the  solution 
of  a  problem ;  thus  much  capital  has  already  been 
devoted  to  the  damming  of  those  streams  in  California, 
of  which  the  banks  were  found  to  be  wealthy ;  but  in 
few  instances  hitherto  have  the  beds  been  found  to  be 
productive ;  yet  they  must  be  so  at  some  point,  unless 
we  are  to  imagine,  what  is  improbable,  that  gold  has 
been  carried  by  rain  water  to  the  verge  of  a  swift 
stream,  and  then  has  been  arrested  there  without  any 
apparent  obstacle. 

There  is  something  capricious  about  this  metal  in 
its  released  state  ;  a  search  for  it,  even  where  evidence 
of  its  existence  has  been  shown,  is  seldom  attended 
with  success,  yet  every  day  almost  chance  brings  to 
light  some  fresh  gold-field. 

I  remember  a  gentleman  who,  taking  an  early  Sun- 
day walk  among  the  hills  that  surround  the  town  of 
Sonora,  struck  his  foot  against  a  stone.  He  should 
have  found  a  sermon  in  it,  for  he  was  not  likely  to 
find  one  any  where  else,  but  in  the  agony  of  a  muti- 
lated great  toe,  he  turned  and  apostrophized  the  rock 
in  unbecoming  language ;  but  he  suddenly  checked 
his  impetuous  feelings,  and  we  will  hope  from  a  good 
motive;  whether  or  no,  the  offending  quartz  was  so 
richly  coated  with  the  dross  that  we  make  a  point  of 
despising  when  we  can't  get  enough  of  it,  that  he  took 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  279 


it  home.  It  was  found  to  contain  more  gold  than 
quartz,  and  yet  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  a 
populous  city,  it  had  protruded  itself  ostentatiously 
without  notice  for  two  or  three  years. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  gold  remained  so 
long  undiscovered  in  California,  considering  that  so 
much  of  it  was  on  the  surface,  even  in  those  parts  of 
the  country  already  inhabited  by  whites.  The  In- 
dians, who  will  search  assiduously  for  the  flints  they 
require  for  arrow-heads,  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  existence  of  gold  on  the  plains,  although 
the  savages  of  the  as  yet  unexplored  mountain  dis- 
tricts, are  found  with  gold  in  their  possession.  The 
early  Spanish  priests  evidently  sought  for  it  without 
success,  judging  from  the  old  shafts  that  have  been 
sunk  on  part  of  the  banks  of  the  Stanislaus  River ; 
and  yet  these  explorations  were  ineffectually  made  in 
the  centre  of  a  rich  district,  and  by  a  class  of  gentle- 
men who  were  never  in  the  habit  of  overlooking  a 
good  thing.  Some  of  the  best  diggings  have  been 
discovered  by  market- gardeners,  who  have  chosen  some 
apparently  valueless  tract  for  the  purpose  of  cabbage 
growing,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  one  man  with  more 
energy  than  agricultural  experience,  who  was  abusing 
the  earth  for  producing  cabbages  that  were  all  stalk, 
found  on  rooting  up  one  very  lengthy  specimen,  that 
a  piece  of  gold  adhered  to  the  roots. 

Holdeus  garden,  near  Sonora,  is  a  case  in  point ; 
this  was  found  to  be  so  rich,  that  the  gamblers  of  the 
town  sallied  out  to  take  possession  of  it,  and  a  fight 
occurred,  in  which  one  or  two  lives  were  lost  before 
the  "  claims"  could  be  adjusted. 


280       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


For  four  years  Holden's  acre  of  cabbage-ground  has 
been  worked  with  great  profit,  pieces  of  gold  of  many 
pounds  weight  eacli  have  been  taken  from  it,  and  to 
this  day  it  is  a  rich  digging,  as  times  go. 

It  is  possible  that  both  my  readers  have  heard  of  a 
certain  Irish  pig  that  could  only  be  induced  to  go  in 
one  direction  by  being  at  the  onset  driven  in  another ; 
it  is  somewhat  this  way  with  the  search  for  gold. 
Start  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  for  copper  or  coal,  and 
you  will  probably,  if  in  a  gold  region,  tumble  down 
and  break  your  nose  over  a  nugget  as  large  as  a  pav- 
ing-stone ;  but  if  you  give  chase  to  the  seductive  metal 
itself,  the  toil  of  a  lifetime  will  very  likely  not  coun- 
terbalance the  first  week's  privation. 

In  respect  to  gold-fields,  even  if  our  argument  leads 
to  no  definite  conclusion,  it  is  something  gained  if  we 
can  determine  that  no  sign  of  diminution  of  yield  is 
as  yet  apparent — as  regards  the  future,  the  wisest  can 
only  record  an  opinion.  I  believe  for  my  part  that 
the  gold-fields  of  California  will  certainly  yield  in  an 
equivalent  proportion  to  their  present  produce  for 
many  years,  even  if  the  diggers  are  left  to  their  own 
resources  ;  what  may  be  done  with  the  soil  eventually, 
when  capital  shall  increase  in  the  mines  and/wm  the 
mines,  is  a  question  as  impossible  to  solve  as  that  of 
the  advance  of  science  in  other  respects  within  the 
next  half  century. 

The  miners  of  California  are  a  highly  intelligent  and 
determined  race,  possessed  of  a  degree  of  mechanical 
genius  that  surprises  me ;  they  have  before  them  a 
large  area  of  soil,  which  they,  equally  with  myself, 
believe  still  to  be  most  wealthy.    They  may  by-and- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  281 


by  have  the  advantages  of  foreign  capital  to  help  them ; 
but  if  not,  the  capital  that  their  sinews  can  accumu- 
late ounce  by  ounce  from  the  gold  soil  will,  in  the 
long  run,  so  far  answer  the  end,  that  the  hills  will  be 
burrowed  and  the  streams  turned  until  the  wealth  is 
sifted  from  them,  and  then  they  have  a  gold  territory, 
as  yet  partially  explored,  to  fall  back  upon — the  first 
range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Now,  like  enterprising  farmers,  they  sow  again  per- 
haps one  half  of  the  year's  harvest,  until  each  fertile 
spot  shall  be  in  cultivation,  multiplying  and  fruitful ; 
and  so  long  as  we  see  that  the  gold  from  the  soil  is 
turned  against  the  soil  in  the  all-powerful  form  of  cap- 
ital, aided  by  science ;  and  so  long  as  we  know  that 
what  is  separated  to-day  by  the  "  long-torn"  may  to- 
morrow be  devoted  to  the  erection  of  steam-engines 
and  the  sinking  of  vast  tunnels,  we  know  that  a  great 
system  of  improvement  is  being  carried  out  independ- 
ent of  all  external  aid:  and  in  the  facts  that  on 
every  side  attest  the  strong  faith  the  miners  hold 
themselves  in  respect  of  the  inexhaustible  nature 
of  the  soil,  and  in  the  evidences  of  success  that 
meet  us  at  all  points,  where  fresh  inventions  are  ap- 
plied, we  have  the  best  guarantee  that  the  "placers" 
of  California  are  in  a  state  of  progressive  improve- 
ment. 

The  reader  will  better  understand  this  when  I  state 
that  the  miners  of  California  have  many  of  them  had 
six  years'  experience,  are  naturally  men  of  ability,  and 
are  now  in  positions  of  independence,  though  still 
miners.  The  popular  opinion  respecting  gold-miners, 
is^that  of  a  body  of  rough,  vagabond,  long-haired  men, 


282      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


wlio  work  one  day  with  a  tin  pan,  and  get  drunk  the 
next;  this  is  perhaps  what  they  were,  to  some  ex- 
tent ;  and  San  Francisco,  which  owes  existence  to  the 
mines,  was  then  a  canvas  village,  given  up  to  dissi- 
pation ;  but  the  tents  have  disappeared  from  Yerba 
Buena,  and  we  have  in  their  room  a  large  and  sub- 
stantially-built city  ;  equally  have  the  mines  changed, 
and  the  "  vagabond  population"  stands  forth  in  the 
shape  of  engineers,  excavators,  mechanics,  and  cun- 
ning inventors ;  and,  better  still,  organized  bands  of 
laborers,  who,  under  the  guidance  of  these  first,  bring 
profit  to  themselves  and  benefit  to  the  country  gen- 
erally. 

The  quartz  mines  of  California  must  now  be  re- 
viewed, for,  in  connection  with  the  probable  future 
yield  of  gold,  they  occupy  a  prominent  position. 

In  that  column  of  the  "  Times"  which  is  expressly 
devoted  to  a  review  of  the  Share  Markets,  some  half- 
dozen  Californian  quartz-mine  operations  will  be  found 
daily  recorded ;  these,  for  the  most  part,  are  in  a  very 
sickly  state.  Why  they  are  so  is  no  business  of  mine ; 
but  the  fact  is  no  criterion  of  the  value  of  the  quartz 
lodes  of  California. 

The  quartz  formation  stretches  in  one  great  vein 
across  the  country  for  nearly  three  hundred  miles  in  a 
northwesterly  direction,  and  this  main  lode  is  through- 
out more  or  less  impregnated  with  gold,  excepting 
where  it  has  been  disturbed  by  volcanic  eruption. 
From  the  main  vein  tributaries  branch  out  on  either 
side,  throughout  its  length,  and  many  of  these  possess 
undoubtedly  sufficient  wealth  to  repay  labor,  if  this 
is  properly  applied.    I  say  this  cautiously,  for  I  know 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  283 


something  now  of  the  traps  and  pit-falls  that  beset 
the  path  of  the  quartz  miner.  These  are  among 
them :  you  have  rich  and  partially  decomposed  lodes 
that  enrich  you  with  a  nest  of  gold  on  the  onset,  but 
lead  you  a  wild-goose  chase  into  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  before  you  find  another ;  you  have  broad  lodes 
white  as  alabaster,  speckled  in  parts  with  gold,  but 
from  which  you  must  quarry  more  valueless  quartz 
than  the  "paying  seam"  will  compensate  for;  and 
you  have  lodes  that  are  liberally  and  evenly  diffused 
with  gold,  but  contain  so  many  properties  antagonistic 
to  amalgamation  by  quicksilver  that  the  metal  you 
seek  can  only  be  secured  by  a  most  expensive  process. 
These  are  the  lodes  that  do  not  pay ;  and  by  this  time 
probably  the  mining  community  here  know  as  much 
of  them  as  I  do. 

But  a  great  number  of  veins,  worked  unostenta- 
tiously by  American  companies,  are  giving  very  satis- 
factory results ;  a  larger  number  are  paying  their 
expenses  only,  but  with  good  prospects  of  improve- 
ment. But  I  must  direct  attention  to  this  fact ;  the 
amount  of  profit  derived  from  quartz-mine  specula- 
tions is  not  of  so  much  importance  to  my  argument 
as  the  number  of  quartz  mines  being  worked.  If 
many  of  the  lodes  now  open  in  California  are  bring- 
ing at  present  a  smaller  percentage  to  their  owners 
than  was  anticipated,  fault  perhaps  of  imperfect  ma- 
chinery and  false  economy,  they  are  none  the  less 
of  importance  as  affecting  the  question  of  the  yield 
of  gold.  For  although  the  hundred  ounces  per  day 
that  pass  through  the  stamping-mill  may  scarcely 
leave  a  profit  on  the  expenses,  the  hundred  ounces 


284       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


are  none  the  less  added  to  the  gross  daily  yield  of 
the  country.  Palpably  plain  as  this  is,  I  mention 
it  because  we  are  apt,  when  speaking  of  gold  quartz 
mining  as  comparatively  profitless  to  speculators, 
to  forget  that  the  gold  is  for  all  that  compressed 
from  the  rock ;  and  it  is  with  this  alone  I  have 
to  do. 

But  as  it  may  be  observed  that  operations  that 
combine  so  much  risk  of  failure  will  shortly  be  aban- 
doned, particularly  in  a  country  where  money  com- 
mands so  high  a  rate  of  interest,  I  must  mention  these 
facts : 

In  the  first  place,  many  American  mining  com- 
panies are  already  paying  handsome  dividends,  and 
those  which  are  least  successful  have,  in  most  in- 
stances, their  machinery  to  blame  more  than  the  vein 
on  which  it  is  erected ;  but  every  thing  is  in  favor 
even  of  those  who  are  thus  situated,  for  improvements 
in  machinery  start  up  on  every  side,  labor  and  the 
expense  of  living  is  diminishing  rapidly,  while  fresh 
developments  bring  new  aspirants  continually  into 
the  field.  For  there  is  something  about  quartz  min- 
ing that  is  seductive  ;  fail  as  you  will,  as  long  as  some 
are  successful  around  you  there  is  a  "  never-say-die" 
feeling  which  ever  prompts  to  fresh  exertion  in  the 
same  field. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  draw  conclusions  from  an 
estimate  of  the  number  of  veins  that  are  now  being 
profitably  worked,  or  the  amount  of  gold  that  may  be 
derived  from  them  in  California,  as  that  country  is 
still  in  a  state  of  transition,  and  not  yet  ripe  for 
figured  calculations.    I  can  only  fall  back  again  upon 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  285 


my  belief,  that  where  gold  exists  ready  to  man's  hand, 
as  it  does  in  the  great  veins  of  California,  the  people 
of  that  region  are  not  likely  to  allow  it  to  remain  slum- 
bering. 

Having  now  shown  that  the  material,  the  capital, 
and  the  energy  exist  to  warrant  a  belief  amounting 
almost  to  a  certainty,  that  an  amount  of  gold  will  yet 
be  produced  from  California  that  will  throw  into  the 
shade  the  millions  that  have  already  been  acquired, 
I  leave  it  to  others  to  argue  how  far  the  same  facts 
apply  to  Australia,  Oregon,  and  other  gold-fields  as 
yet  less  perfectly  developed.  I  scarcely  dare  guess 
at  the  sum  that  the  next  ten  years  will  see  produced 
from  California,  but  call  attention  to  this  fact,  that 
seven  years  have  elapsed  since  the  discovery  of  gold, 
and  as  yet  no  apparent  sign  of  exhaustion  is  mani- 
fest, although  all  predicted,  from  the  first,  that  the 
auriferous  soil  was  but  superficial.  Had  this  proph- 
ecy been  borne  out  to  any  degree  by  experience  we 
might  have  made  a  calculation ;  as  matters  stand,  all 
tends  to  the  belief  that  the  best  is  yet  to  come.  Nor 
should  it  be  overlooked  that  the  price  of  labor  in  Cali- 
fornia is  still  slightly  higher  than  in  Australia,  one 
country  being  four  years  older  (in  gold  discovery)  than 
the  other,  and  both  necessarily  regulating  wages  by 
the  profits  of  the  gold-field. 

When  I  have  stated  that  twenty  millions  sterling 
are  annually  produced  from  California,  and  that  as 
yet  no  probability  is  apparent  of  a  less  yield  for  some 
years,  I  have  said  as  much  as  comes  within  the  prov- 
ince of  my  narrative. 

How  far  gold  may  be   eventually  permanently 


286      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


depreciated  by  the  addition  of  five  hundred  mill- 
ions to  the  specie  currency  of  the  world,  is  a 
question  for  financiers,  and  those  who  have  gold 
enough  to  care  about  the  value  of  it ;  but  ten 
years  of  successful  work  in  the  gold-fields  already 
discovered,  may  produce  that  sum,  and  in  all  prob- 
ability will. 

There  is  but  one  question  more:  is  gold  already 
depreciated  in  value  ?  As  measured  by  labor  and  prop- 
erty, undoubtedly  it  is  ;  for  it  matters  not  whether  in 
speaking  of  a  gold  country,  we  say  that  gold  is  cheap, 
or  labor  is  dear:  as  affecting  the  question  the  terms 
are  equivalent.  Like  a  stone  thrown  in  the  water, 
the  effects  of  a  gold  country  spread  from  it  in  widen- 
ing circles ;  the  increased  value  of  labor  there  is  dif- 
fused to  places  more  remote,  and  consequently  the 
depreciation  of  gold  is  diffused  also.  If  the  farmer 
here,  affected  by  the  extending  influence  of  the  gold- 
field,  already  pays  more  for  his  labor,  he  may  individ- 
ually counterbalance  this  loss  by  receiving  a  higher 
price  for  his  wheat ;  still  his  gold  (supposing  these 
effects  to  be  perceived)  represents  less  labor  on  the 
one  hand,  and  less  property  on  the  other.  But  it 
will  be  argued  that  such  a  depreciation  is  caused  by 
the  indirect  means  of  emigration,  and  that  this  is  tem- 
porary. Granted :  but  if  it  is  a  depreciation,  may  it 
not  last,  in  a  temporary  way,  as  fresh  gold-fields  are 
discovered,  until  it  is  supplanted  by  the  permanent 
depreciation  which  will  arise  when  the  vast  influx  of 
precious  metal  shall  first  make  itself  felt  throughout 
the  world  ? 

Already  out  of  my  depth,  I  leave  the  foregoing  re- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  287 


marks  as  they  stand,  and  the  reader  will  observe  that 
they  are  only  suggestive.  If  I  have  allowed  myself 
to  plunge  from  a  firm  bank  of  facts  into  a  small  pud- 
dle of  conjecture,  with  which  I  had  no  business,  all  I 
can  say  is  that  I  am  very  sorry  for  it,  and  will  wade 
out  of  it  as  fast  as  I  can. 


CHAPTER 


XVIII. 


Transport  Machinery  to  the  Mine. — The  Carpenter  Judge,  and 
Constable  Rowe. — Cut-throat  Jack. — Greasers. — French  Miners. 
— John  Chinaman. — Chinese  Ferocity. — The  Feast  of  Lanterns. 
— Chinese  Despotism. — False  Sympathy. 

November,  1851. 

In  the  course  of  three  months  we  had  collected  two 
or  three  hundred  tons  of  ore,  and  as  the  tests  we  daily 
made  still  bore  out  our  preconceived  opinions  of  the 
value  of  the  mine,  I  proceeded  to  San  Francisco  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  the  steam  power  and  ma- 
chinery requisite  for  a  trial  of  the  metal  we  had  quar- 
ried. 

The  life  of  the  quartz  miner  at  this  date  was  tor- 
tured by  doubts  ;  he  was  ever  in  doubt  as  to  the  value 
of  his  rock ;  he  was  ever  in  doubt  as  to  the  depth  of 
his  vein  ;  and  he  was  ever  in  doubt  as  to  the  machin- 
ery best  adapted  for  securing  gold ;  nor  is  his  position, 
taken  generally,  much  happier  in  these  respects  at  the 
present  time ;  and  I  will  be  bound,  sir,  that  the  di- 
rectors who  led  to  your  victimization,*  and  the  subor- 
dinates that  they  employed,  are  as  much  trammeled 
by  these  doubts  as  any  quartz  miners  I  could  men- 
tion. 

I  was  profoundly  meditative  on  the  subject  of  ma- 
chinery as  I  jogged  along  on  the  Old  Soldier  to  Stock- 

*  Obsolete  term  revived. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


289 


ton.  I  recalled  to  mind  that  for  pulverizing  the  rock 
we  had  stampers,  rollers,  grinders,  and  triturators, 
which  you  pleased;  that  for  amalgamating  the  gold 
with  quicksilver  we  had  "trapiches,"  "  erasteros," 
wooden  tubs,  and  iron  basins,  which  you  pleased 
also.  That  we  had  design  No.  1,  that  had  been  so 
successfully  employed  by  Professor  A,  in  the  Ural 
Mountains ;  design  No.  2,  that  Professor  B  had  made 
his  fortune  with  (by  selling  the  patent  though),  and 
which  had  never  failed  in  the  Swiss  Cantons,  where 
gold  was  rather  scarce  than  otherwise ;  and  design 
No.  3,  an  infallible  invention  by  Professor  C,  an 
American  gentleman,  who  hadn't  sold  his  patent  yet, 
but  was  quite  ready  to  part  with  it  for  a  consideration. 
All  this  I  knew,  but  I  was  also  aware  that  none  of 
these  plans  had  been  attended  with  complete  success  ; 
some  were  too  simple  in  construction  and  too  slow, 
others  were  too  complicated  in  mechanism  and  too 
fast  and  furious. 

One  machine  would  catch  every  metal  the  quartz 
contained  except  the  gold  ;  another  would  allow  every 
thing  to  give  it  the  go  by,  except  the  refuse  tailings 
that  were  not  wanted ;  none  secured  the  gold  but 
those  which  required  more  manual  labor  than  it 
would  have  been  profitable  to  employ. 

When,  therefore,  I  arrived  at  San  Francisco  I  de- 
termined on  trying  a  newly-invented  machine  which 
had  not  yet  been  proved  in  the  mines,  but  which 
looked  very  promising  for  my  experimental  work: 
with  this,  and  an  eight-horse  power  steam  engine,  I 
returned  to  Tuttle-Town. 

It  was  hard  work  to  get  the  boiler  of  the  engine 
N 


290       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


over  the  mountains,  for  the  rains  had  commenced  to 
fall,  and  in  many  places  the  mud  was  very  deep. 
Three  or  four  days'  rain  entirely  change  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Sonora  road ;  and  wherever  there  is  a  hol- 
low in  which  the  water  can  accumulate,  there,  through- 
out the  winter  you  have  a  quagmire  which  becomes 
deeper  as  each  fresh  waggon  or  mule  passes  through 
it,  until  at  last  having  become  impassable,  it  is  avoid- 
ed by  a  circuit,  which  one  traveler  having  made  every 
other  traveler  from  that  day  follows. 

Although  I  had  given  the  boiler  two  or  three  days1 
start,  I  found  it  on  arriving  at  Table  Mountain,  with 
the  worst  part  of  the  journey  still  before  it ;  however, 
we  had  sixteen  yoke  of  oxen,  and  after  a  couple  of 
days  of  great  trouble,  the  machinery  was  a  length 
safely  planted  in  Tuttle-Town.  Its  arrival  created 
great  sensation,  and  the  town  increased  in  size  and 
importance  on  the  strength  of  it.  A  French  baker 
and  a  butcher  established  themselves  in  our  main 
street ;  and  at  the  first  general  election  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  constable  were  legally  elected ;  the 
former  was  a  worthy  carpenter  of  good  education ; 
the  latter  post  was  filled  by  Howe.  Whenever  we 
saw  Howe  buckling  on  his  pistols  in  a  decisive  man- 
ner preparatory  to  a  start,  we  knew  that  he  was  pro- 
ceeding to  collect  a  debt  due  to  some  Tuttletonian, 
and  this  active  constable  invariably  brought  back 
either  the  money  or  the  man.  And  although  our 
own  small  population  was  very  peaceful,  our  justice 
of  the  peace  had  ample  employment  from*  the  sur- 
rounding miners,  and  dispensed  a  great  amount  of 
justice  in  a  very  firm  but  off-hand  manner ;  and  so 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  291 


much  respect  was  felt  for  the  sagacity  and  impartial- 
ity of  our  carpenter,  that  his  decisions  in  those  dis- 
putes that  came  before  his  notice  were  invariably  re- 
ceived with  satisfaction  on  all  sides.  The  following 
incident  will  illustrate  the  summary  process  by  which 
one  judge  and  one  constable  could  force  obedience  to 
the  law  among  an  armed  population  in  the  mountains. 
One  evening  as  our  "judge"  was  putting  the  finish- 
ing touch  to  a  shanty  he  had  been  engaged  in  repair-, 
ing,  a  messenger  informed  him  that  a  murder  had 
just  been  committed  at  an  adjacent  digging;  the 
judge  thereupon  threw  down  his  hammer,  and,  after 
taking  the  depositions,  issued  a  warrant  for  the  arrest 
of  the  murderer,  who  was  a  well-known  desperado. 
Constable  Rowe  was  to  serve  this  warrant  and  cap- 
ture the  delinquent ;  consequently,  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  Tuttle-Town  (about  fifteen)  armed  themselves 
to  protect  constable  Rowe,  and  accompanied  him  to 
the  diggings  in  question.  Arrived  there,  the  accused 
was  found  to  have  intrenched  himself  in  his  house, 
with  desperate  intentions  of  firing  his  revolver  at  the 
law  in  whatever  form  it  might  summon  him.  I  was 
not  sorry  to  find  on  our  arrival  that  he  abandoned  this 
design,  and  surrendered  himself  at  discretion,  so  we 
marched  him  off  to  Tuttle-Town.  The  judge  heard 
all  that  was  to  be  said,  and  that  was  sufficient  for 
the  committal  of  the  prisoner  to  the  jail  at  Sonora  to 
await  a  trial ;  so  we  mounted  our  horses,  took  him  at 
once  into  the  town,  and  had  him  locked  up.  What- 
ever became  of  him  afterward  I  don't  Igiow,  but 
he  never  returned  to  our  vicinity,  and  this  was 
the  way  that  the  law  was  put  in  force  in  every 


292       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


THE  CAKP15NTER  JDDG  K. 


case  that  came  under  the  authority  of  our  carpenter 
judge. 

A  Sonorian  was  found  one  day  in  possession  of  a 
mule  not  his  own.  While  the  culprit  quakes  in  the 
grip  of  our  constable,  our  judge  exhorts  the  villain  to 
be  more  honest  in  his  dealings.  I  have  this  scene 
before  me  so  vividly  that  I'll  place  it  on  the  wood  at 
once  before  I  write  another  line. 

So  !  now  if  there  is  less  benevolence  beaming  from 
the  eyes  of  our  carpenter  than  I  would  have  you 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  293 


believe  existed  in  his  heart,  the  fault  is  in  the  spec- 
tacles. 

We  rid  ourselves  about  this  time  of  a  bad  charac- 
ter. There  was  a  fierce  brute  of  a  man  who  often 
visited  our  camp,  who  was  known  to  have  committed 
a  cold-blooded  murder,  although  the  law  had  acquitted 
him.  He  was  called  "  Cut-throat  Jack,"  nor  did  he 
object  to  the  appellation;  he  was  more  feared  in  the 
mines  than  I  should  have  supposed  any  man  to  have 
been,  but  he  was  always  in  a  reckless,  half-drunken 
state,  and  those  who  preferred  to  avoid  a  deadly  quar- 
rel would  leave  any  house  he  entered.  He  was  inva- 
riably armed,  and  always  boastful. 

One  night  as  Thomas  was  watching  a  stack-fire 
near  the  tents,  in  which  a  mass  of  quartz  was  being 
purposely  brought  to  a  white  heat  for  experimental 
purposes,  Cut-throat  Jack  swaggered  up  to  him,  and 
informed  him  that  he  intended  to  pass  the  night  in 
our  shanty  (Rowe  and  I  being  in  Sonora).  To  this 
Thomas  objected,  upon  which  Cut-throat  made  such 
a  warlike  demonstration  that  Thomas  very  properly 
knocked  him  down.  "Jack"  unfortunately  fell  on  the 
red-hot  quartz,  and  the  sensation  was  so  new  to  him 
that,  as  soon  as  he  could  withdraw  himself,  he  drew 
neither  pistol  nor  knife,  but  was  instantly  lost  to  sight 
in  the  surrounding  gloom,  and  never  swaggered  into 
our  camp  again  from  that  night  forth. 

In  our  immediate  neighborhood  we  had  three  classes 
of  miners — Mexicans,  French,  and  Chinese  ;  and  their 
peculiarities  of  race  were  so  marked  that  I  shall  record 
them. 

The  "Greasers,"  which  term  includes  all  Spanish 


294 


M  O  U  N  T  A  I  N  S 


AND 


M  O  L  E  H  1  L  L  S . 


THE  FRENCH  MIXER. 


Americans,  will  pass  the  night  and  early  morning  in 
working  at  their  claims,  and  then  devote  the  day  to 
gambling  and  sleeping,  and  the  evening  to  a  Fandango 
or  a  horse-stealing  excursion  ;  a  Mexican  in  the  mines 
has  no  idea  of  saving  money,  but,  like  the  water-car- 


M  OUXT A INS 


AND  MOLEHILLS. 


295 


rier  of  Bagdad,  he  will  work  one  half  of  the  day  that 
he  may  spend  the  other  half  in  indulgence. 

The  French,  among  whom  are  many  Parisians,  will 
work  in  a  quiet  and  tolerably  steady  manner,  if  no- 
thing unusual  occurs  to  disturb  them ;  but  if  by  chance 
a  strange  Frenchman  should  arrive  in  their  camp,  or 
an  old  copy  of  the  "Moniteur"  should  reach  them,  the 
picks  and  spades  are  relinquished  for  the  day,  and  all 
devote  themselves  to  discussion.  Often  I  have  passed 
some  solitary  Frenchman  at  a  gulch,  who,  while  ele- 
vating a  tin  pannikin  of  vbi  ordinaire,  would  be  shout- 
ing out  "L'Amour  et  la  Patrie!"  Probably  some  of 
his  countrymen  had  that  day  passed  on  the  road,  some- 
thing of  course  had  been  said  in  allusion  to  the  beau- 
tiful France,  and  the  poor  fellow  was  as  happy  under 
the  influence  of  reawakened  associations,  as  if  he  had 
already  reached  his  native  vineyards  to  settle  there  for 
life,  with  a  well-lined  purse. 

The  Chinese  are  a  strong  contrast  to  the  thriftless 
Mexicans  and  joyous  Gauls. 

The  Celestial  digger,  with  a  grave,  elonga  jd  face, 
is  up  with  the  dawn  and  at  work,  forgetting  t(  perform 
his  ablutions  in  his  hurry.  Xo  laugh  proc.  eds  from 
his  lantern  jaws,  but  his  thoughts  are  steadily  bent  on 
the  pursuit  before  him ;  if  ever  he  chuckles,  it  must 
be  inwardly,  to  think  how  fast  he  is  putting  by  the 
nice  gold,  and  how  cheaply  he  is  living  every  day 
upon  six  pennyworth  of  rice  and  salt  worms,  while 
those  around  him  are  gambling  away  their  substance. 
But  the  Chinaman  is  none  the  less  a  gambler ;  the 
only  difference  is  that  he  plays  for  a  small  stake,  and 
is,  in  fact,  a  good  economist,  for  as  he  watches  the 


296      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


wavering  fortunes  of  his  farthing,  he  enjoys  pleasura*. 
ble  excitement  if  he  wins,  and  is  not  materially  dam-, 
aged  if  he  loses.  Hundreds  of  these  gambling-houses 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Chinese  "quartier"  of  San 
Francisco,  and  there  is  one  or  more  at  every  Chinese 
digging;  but  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  sil- 
ver dollar,  I  never  saw  any  thing  change  hands  in 
them  but  the  copper  pice  the  Chinese  bring  with  them 
to  the  country. 

These  people  must  feel  very  happy  while  daily  fin- 
gering the  Californian  soil,  where  they  acquire  more 
gold  in  a  week  than  at  home  they  would  see  in  a  year. 
John  Chinaman  knows  the  value  of  a  dollar  so  well, 
that  he  will  do  any  thing  rather  than  be  without  it: 
to  gain  so  much,  then,  at  such  little  trouble,  must  in- 
deed be  a  treat. 

When  a  couple  of  Chinese  dispute  over  the  right  to 
a  claim,  the  noise  and  gesticulations  are  frightful; 
arms  (corporeal)  are  elevated  on  all  sides ;  fingers  are 
extended  in  indication  of  numbers,  days,  or  dates, 
while  each  disputant  being  supported  by  his  friends, 
all  talk  at  once  so  rapidly,  that  the  wonder  is  how 
they  can  sustain  the  altercation,  and  it  is  only  when 
breath  is  exhausted  on  all  sides,  that  the  argument  is 
at  last  made  comprehensible.  Chinamen  are  a  long 
time  coming  to  blows,  and  I  have  seen  them  at  Amoy 
and  other  towns,  stand  almost  nose  to  nose,  with  arms 
extended,  as  if  preparatory  to  a  deadly  struggle  that 
was  to  end  only  with  life ;  but,  further  than  making 
a  dreadful  uproar,  no  harm  came  of  these  rencontres. 

A  real  fight,  accompanied  by  loss  of  life,  occurred 
in  a  Chinese  digging  in  the  north,  but  this  was  attrib- 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


297 


JOHN  CHINAMAN. 

utable  principally  to  the  fact,  that  a  small  party  of 
Tartars  compelled  a  larger  body  of  Chinese,  either  to 
fight  or  relinquish  the  gold-field,  and  this  was  driving 
poor  "John"  into  a  corner  indeed. 

Many  of  the  Chinese  at  the  mines  have  abolished 
tails,  and  when  their  hair  has  grown  in  its  natural 
manner,  it  is  astonishing  how  villainous  an  appear- 
ance they  present.  Their  hair  grows  low  down  on 
the  forehead,  and  is  invariably  straight. 

An  ordinary  Chinaman  in  his  loose  dress,  with  his 
head  shaved  and  hair  drawn  back,  is  rather  an  intel- 
lectual looking  being,  at  the  first  glance,  but  take  the 

N* 


298      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


same  man,  and  allow  his  hair  to  grow,  and  divest  him 
of  a  picturesque  costume,  and  in  place  of  an  apparent 
mild  benevolence,  you  are  struck  at  once  with  the 
small  cunning-looking  eyes  and  low  forehead,  which 
in  the  other  garb  escaped  notice. 

A  Chinaman  is  supposed  to  regard  his  tail  in  a  re- 
ligious light,  but  those  who  have  dispensed  voluntarily 
with  them  in  California,  do  not  seem  by  any  means 
to  have  placed  themselves  without  the  pale  of  society. 

Some  of  them  adopt  the  European  costume,  and 


THE  FEAST  OF  LANTERNS. 


patronize  patent  leather  boots  and  gold  watch-chains. 
I  remember  a  very  beautiful  drawing,  I  think  by  Al- 
lom,  of  the  "Feast  of  Lanterns,"  in  China;  the  same 
festive  day  is  observed  at  San  Francisco,  and  if  the  ac- 
companying sketch  of  two  Americo-Chinese,  celebra- 
ting this  fete,  on  hired  hacks,  is  less  picturesque  than 
the  drawing  alluded  to,  it  is  none  the  less  a  faithful 
delineation  of  the  appearance  of  civilized  Celestials. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  299 


All  the  Chinamen  of  'San  Francisco  are  fond  of 
riding  out  on  these  feast  days,  and  in  whatever  cos- 
tume they  may  be,  they  invariably  pursue  one  mode 
of  horsemanship,  that  is,  to  ride  at  full  gallop,  shout- 
ing or  screaming,  and  then  to  tumble  off  into  the 
sand  or  mud,  the  last  act  being  involuntary.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  these  people  are  excellent  colonists 
as  regards  their  own  interests,  for  they  have  learnt 
the  first  art  of  colonization,  a  systematic  obedience  to 
a  chief,  and  wherever  they  go,  they  quietly  submit  to 
the  code  of  discipline  established  among  themselves, 
and  submit  even  when  this  authority  is  abused,  by 
the  imposition  of  taxes  and  extortions,  by  their  own 
head  men.  Part  of  Sacramento  Street  is  entirely 
occupied  by  Chinese  retail  merchants,  and  it  is  similar 
in  appearance  to  the  Old  Bazaar  at  Hong-Kong.  Im- 
mediately a  ship  arrives  in  port  with  Chinese  emi- 
grants, these  are  taken  in  charge  by  the  head  men, 
and  are  supplied  with  stores  and  packed  off  to  the 
mines,  with  great  precision  and  regularity,  there  to 
pay  a  tax  to  these  self-constituted  chiefs  as  long  as 
they  are  in  the  mines. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  existence  of  a  combi- 
nation of  three  or  four  of  the  most  powerful  of  the 
Chinese  merchants,  which  being  discovered,  was  in- 
terfered with  ineffectually  by  the  police.  Now  I  have 
no  doubt  that  this  clique  of  wealthy  Chinese  not  only 
supply  the  Chinese  emigrants,  as  aforesaid,  looking  to 
then  labor  in  the  mines  for  a  profit,  but  that  they  also 
invest  money  in  chartering  ships  to  bring  the  poorer 
classes  of  their  nation  to  California,  thus  exercising  a 
monopoly  in  the  gold-fields. 


300 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Much  has  been  said  and  argued  relative  to  check- 
ing by  law  the  Chinese  emigration  to  California,  and 
believing,  as  I  do,  from  such  facts  as  I  could  gather, 
that  this  system  of  private  taxation  is  on  the  increase, 
I  wonder  at  the  forbearance  that  has  hitherto  been 
shown  by  the  authorities.  "  Live,  and  let  live,"  is 
a  capital  creed,  properly  carried  out,  but  when  the 
mines  of  California  are  overrun  with  bands  of  poor 
fishermen,  whose  profits  serve  to  enrich  a  clique,  and 
these  latter  remove  the  money  from  the  country  as  fast 
as  they  collect  it,  the  principle  is  an  unfair  one,  injuri- 
ous to  the  country,  and  antagonistic  to  the  principles 
which  have  made  it  a  free  state  as  regards  black  slavery. 

An  instance  of  the  power  these  head  men  attempt 
to  exercise  came  under  my  notice,  for  while  staying 
with  an  English  friend  in  the  suburbs  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, there  arrived  one  day  a  carriage,  from  which 
a  gorgeously  dressed  "John"  emerged.  He  stated 
in  tolerable  English  that  he  was  a  "  lawyer,"  and 
that  he  had  come  for  a  Chinese  woman  who,  for 
many  years,  had  been  in  my  friend's  service,  and 
who,  he  said,  had  complained  of  being  confined 
against  her  will.  The  woman  had  saved  a  large 
sum  in  wages,  and  could  speak  no  language  but  her 
own,  but  she  resolutely  declined  to  go  when  an  inter- 
preter was  procured.  The  Celestial  lawyer  was  con- 
sequently well  kicked  for  his  pains,  and  departed,  but 
we  had  no  doubt  that  all  that  was  wanted  of  the  old 
woman  was  the  money  she  had  saved,  and  it  was 
fortunate  for  her  that  her  master  was  a  Hong-Kong 
merchant,  and  knew  something  of  the  wiles  of  John 
Chinaman. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  301 


Much  has  been  said,  also,  at  home  here,  relative  to 
the  conversion  of  the  Chinese,  and  no  one  would  more 
gladly  see  this  brought  about  than  myself,  provided  it 
is  done  with  Chinese  money. 

The  Chinaman  is  highly  intelligent,  inventive,  la- 
borious, and  patient,  be  he  where  he  will,  but  he  is 
ever  avaricious  ;  it  may  or  may  not  be  that  those 
are  right  who,  knowing  something  of  his  character, 
hold  that  he  would  worship  any  god  if  thereby  he  can 
better  worship  mammon  ;*  but  I  confine  my  opinion 
to  this,  that  it  is  time  enough  to  build  colleges  for 
the  Chinese  when  we  have  suitably  provided  for  the 
instruction  of  our  own  ignorant  poor,  and  until  this 
is  done,  I  humbly  submit,  with  every  respect  for  the 
Missionaries  among  the  Heathen,  that  every  sixpence 
that  leaves  our  country  for  the  conversion  of  the  Chi- 
nese is  an  injustice  to  those  at  home,  whose  claims 
upon  our  charity  ring  daily  in  our  ears,  with  a  truth 
that  ought  to  be  more  forcible  than  the  energetic  ap- 
peals that  are  raised  for  John  Chinaman,  but  which 
unfortunately  is  not  always  so. 

Xever  doubting  that  it  is  our  first  duty  as  a  Chris- 
tian nation  to  disseminate  those  truths  that  come  from 
an  inspired  source,  why  should  we,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  false  sympathy,  strive  to  do  for  the  Chi- 
nese what  so  many  of  our  own  people  yet  require. 
The  Chinese  have  an  advantage  over  many  of  our 
lower  classes ;  they  are  intelligent  and  reflective,  and 

*  A  converted  Buddhist  will  address  his  prayers  to  our  God  if  he 
thinks  he  can  obtain  any  temporal  benefit  by  so  doing;  but  if  not,  he 
would  be  just  as  likely  to  pray  to  Buddha  or  to  the  devil. — Bakers 
i;  Rifle  and  Hound  in  Ceylon,"  page  85. 


302 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


have  Confucian  maxims  daily  brought  even  in  the 
highways  before  their  notice,  that  enjoin  most  of  the 
social  duties  that  render  man's  life  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Divine  wish.  Morally  at  least,  the 
Chinaman  is  cared  for ;  and  although  a  heathen,  igno- 
rant in  this  respect  he  can  not  be  said  to  be.  Let 
him  therefore,  for  the  present,  study  from  gilded  sign- 
posts the  Confucian  maxims  that  ordain  him  to  be 
charitable,  honest,  and  reverent  to  his  parents ;  and 
let  us  first  instill  these  commands  given  from  a  holier 
source  to  those  around  us  who  have  never  heard 
them,  who  could  not  read  them  if  they  were  written 
up,  and  who  are  too  ignorant,  too  poverty-stricken, 
and  too  much  at  war  with  the  life  that  has  entailed 
nothing  but  misery  upon  them,  to  accept  them  even 
as  truths,  until  they  first  see  charity  in  a  more  sub- 
stantial form.  This  done,*  we  may  build  colleges  for 
the  Chinese,  in  a  full  hope  that  He  who  has  ordained 
us  to  love  our  brother,  may  bless  the  work  of  con- 
version. 

*  If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  "  Times"  of  the  29th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1854,  he  will  perceive  that  a  liberal  collection  was  made  at 
St.  James's,  Piccadilly,  for  the  Borneo  Mission.  In  the  same  jour- 
nal, three  days  earlier,  the  police  magistrates  express  their  regret 
that  want  of  funds  compels  them  to  deny  assistance  to  surviving 
sufferers  from  the  cholera !  All  have,  of  course,  a  right  to  do  as 
they  like  with  their  money;  but  after  the  hat  had  passed  round 
at  St.  James's,  I  should  have  liked  to  have  seen  its  liberal  con- 
tents transferred  at  once  to  Bermondsey  instead  of  to  Kuchin.  And 
for  this  reason,  that  I  know,  from  personal  experience,  that  my  old 
friends  the  Dyaks  are  as  fat  and  sleek  a  people  as  any  in  the  world, 
well  fed,  well  housed,  and  free  from  disease,  while  the  stomachs  of 
those  at  Spitalfields,  charitable  sir,  are  aching  with  the  hunger  that 
drives  man  to  crime  ! 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  Firemen  of  San  Francisco. — "We  strive  to  Save.'' — A  Barber's 
Saloon. — Oysters. — Places  of  Amusement. — A  pickled  Head. — 
Shooting  on  Sight. 

Christmas,  1851. 

The  machinery  was  at  length  in  its  place,  and  we 
got  the  steam  up  for  a  trial ;  our  engineer  was  one  of 
the  same  school  as  he  of  the  Stockton  boat,  and  con- 
sidered that  engines  were  "bound  to  go,*'  whether  on 
sea  or  land ;  and  when  I  remarked  to  him  that  ninety 
pounds  of  steam  was  about  double  the  pressure  the 
boiler  ought  to  bear,  he  asked  very  naturally  "of 
what  use  was  an  eight-horse  power  engine  if  you 
couldn't  make  her  work  up  to  a  twelve  /" 

Having  started  the  machinery,  we  awaited  in  a 
great  state  of  excitement  the  result ;  this  came  soon 
enough,  for  in  a  few  minutes  the  crusher  broke  down 
irremediably,  and  like  some  unfortunate  two-year-old 
horse,  ran  its  first  and  last  race  at  the  same  time. 

I  returned,  therefore,  to  San  Francisco,  medita- 
tingly  as  before,  and  on  my  arrival  there,  I  gave  my 
mind  to  the  preparation  of  machinery  that  should 
grind  and  scrunch  with  a  vigor  that  nothing  could 
resist,  and  which  should  give  ample  employment  to 
the  four  extra  horses  which  my  engineer  managed  to 
extract  from  the  steam-engine.  The  city  presented  a 
much  improved  appearance,  the  small  sand-hills  had 
now  nearly  all  disappeared,  and  having  been  thrown 


304 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


into  the  bay,  a  level  site  was  being  rapidly  extended 
on  either  side,  where  before  was  a  shelving  sandy 
beach,  the  least  adapted  in  the  world  for  building  a 
large  and  substantial  city.  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  sand  thrown  into  mud  has  not  proved  a  bad 
foundation  even  in  a  country  subject  to  heavy  rains. 
The  first  brick  building  erected  on  this  artificial 
foundation  was  the  American  theatre,  this,  on  the 
first  night  it  was  opened,  settled  bodily  two  or  three 
inches,  but  afterward  remained  steady. 

I  found  the  people  of  San  Francisco  still  very 
nervous  about  fire ;  and  though  the  dreadful  experi- 
ence of  the  past  had  caused  extraordinary  precautions 
to  be  taken  for  preventing  the  recurrence  of  another 
general  conflagration,  still  night  after  night  as  the 
warning  bell  hurriedly  announced  some  fire  in  the 
suburbs,  the  whole  population  would  turn  out,  and 
follow  the  engines  "en  masse"  to  the  scene  of  con- 
flagration. Not  a  night  passed  but  one  or  more 
alarms  were  pealed  forth  by  that  dreadful  bell,  of 
which  the  tone  was  so  familiar,  and  so  associated  with 
misfortune,  and  a  shanty  or  two  would  generally  be 
consumed  in  the  wooden  portion  of  the  city.  Some- 
times an  hotel  or  hospital  would  blaze  and  furnish  a 
famous  night's  work  for  the  firemen,  but  these  were 
so  active  and  vigilant,  that  the  flames  were  always 
confined  to  a  small  space,  and  it  was  evident  that  the 
days  of  general  conflagrations  were  over.  The  highest 
praise  that  I  can  accord  to  the  San  Francisco  firemen, 
is  to  record  the  simple  truth  of  them,  and  say  that 
they  are  zealous  and  intrepid,  and  that  there  services 
are  gratuitous.    The  fire  department  of  San  Fran- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  305 

cisco  now  numbers  about  fifteen  hundred  members 
and  twenty  engines.  It  is  divided  into  companies, 
each  of  which  is  formed  on  a  military  principle, 
chooses  its  own  name  and  uniform,  and  bears  all  its 
own  expenses. 

The  companies  are  distinguished  by  such  names  as 
the  "Monumental,"  the  "Empire,"  the  "Washing- 
ton," and  to  see  them  in  their  smart  dresses,  as  they 
turn  out  in  procession  on  a  gala  day,  one  would  not 
suppose  that  there  was  so  much  real  work  concealed 
beneath  so  much  show. 

There  are  also  two  or  three  "hook  and  ladder" 
companies,  who  do  ample  service  in  blowing  up  and 
tearing  down  buildings  when  necessary.  Many  of 
these  young  firemen  occupy  the  best  positions  in  San 
Francisco ;  and  it  strikes  a  stranger  as  somewhat 
novel,  if  when  the  fire-bell  is  sounded  in  the  day  time, 
he  sees  the  junior  partner  in  the  house  of  Mivins  and 
Co.  rush  out  of  his  office  with  a  helmet  on  his  head, 
and  proceed  at  full  speed  to  his  engine-house. 

Sometimes  some  poor  fellow  loses  his  life  in  his 
exertions  to  perform  his  self-imposed  duty,  and  then 
his  brother  firemen,  in  unassumed  grief,  pay  him  the 
last  tribute  of  respect  by  following  his  body  to  the 
cemetery. 

I  have  introduced  such  a  scene  in  the  sketch  of  San 
Francisco,  and  would  draw  attention  simply  to  the 
deep  significance  of  the  motto  on  the  banner  that  is 
lying  low,  emblematical  of  him  they  are  burying — 
"We  strive  to  save." 

There  is  no  boast,  no  ostentation  in  these  words, 
no  vainglorious  confidence  in  what  shall  be  done,  no 


306       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


allusion  to  victories  gained  or  deeds  performed.  Look 
on  the  motto,  44  We  strive  to  save ;"  now  look  on  the 
coffin  that  contains  all  that  is  mortal  of  one  who 
under  that  banner  has  found  a  death  as  worthy  of  the 
laurel  as  any  soldier  who  at  once  brings  pride  and 
sorrow  to  the  nation  in  whose  cause  fighting  inch  by 
inch  he  yields  up  life. 

You  and  I,  reader,  can  sleep  comfortably  in  our 
beds,  and  have  no  cause  each  night  to  be  drenched  by 
water  and  scorched  by  heat,  no  bell  summons  us  to 
duty,  nor  need  we  risk  life  or  limb  when  the  glare 
ascends  from  a  blazing  manufactory,  but  turning  com- 
fortably over,  we  can  again  court  sleep  with  the  inten- 
tion of  reading  of  the  fire  over  our  breakfast  table. 

But  you  will  agree  with  me,  perhaps,  that  be  we 
where  we  will,  lok  our  powers  what  they  may,  if  we 
look  around  us  we  shall  find  no  better  standard  to  ral- 
ly round  and  be  faithful  to  than  that  which  bears  the 
fireman's  motto,  "We  strive  to  save" 

Gorgeous  decoration  is  characteristic  of  San  Francis- 
co ;  the  people  pay  high  prices  for  the  necessaries  of  life, 
so  velvet  and  gilt  work  is  thrown  into  the  bargain. 
In  the  "  shaving-saloons"  this  system  of  internal  deco- 
ration is  carried  out  in  great  force,  and  the  accommo- 
dation these  establishments  aiford  is  indispensable  to 
a  Californian  public. 

Let  me  suppose  myself  to  have  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  from  the  mines  early  one  morning.  Having 
traveled  down  on  the  Old  Soldier,  I  have  no  carpet 
bag  of  course,  and  I  enter  a  shaving-saloon.  At  a 
counter  I  purchase  any  quantity  of  linen  I  may  re- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  309 

quire  for  the  moment,  and  with  this  I  proceed  to  the 
bath-room  ;  when  I  return  from  my  ablutions,  I  am 
asked  if  I  would  like  my  head  "  shampoo-ed."  With 
a  reckless  feeling  in  respect  of  shampooing,  the  result 
of  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Turkish  baths,  I 
submit  to  this  operation. 

Seating  myself  on  an  easy  chair  of  velvet,  and 
placing  my  legs  on  an  easy  stool,  also  of  velvet,  I 
become  drowsy  under  the  influence  of  the  fingers  and 
thumbs  of  the  operator,  as  they  are  passed  over  my 
skull,  as  if  with  a  view  to  making  a  phrenological  chart, 
and  which  produce  a  feeling  at  last  as  if  hundreds  of 
fingers  and  thumbs  were  at  work,  and  the  whole  force 
of  the  establishment  were  scratching  my  head. 

I  am  conducted  to  a  marble  washstand,  and  a  tap 
of  cold  water  is  turned  on  me.  I  thought  I  had 
washed  my  head  in  the  bath,  but  it  appears  not,  judg- 
ing by  the  color  of  the  water.  My  head  is  dried  by 
hard  labor,  then  it  is  wetted  again  by  a  shower  of  eau 
de  Cologne  and  water,  thrown  at  me  when  least  ex- 
pected. "  Will  I  be  shaved,  sir  V  Of  course  I  will ! 
"Take  a  seat."  I  sink  into  the  velvet  chair,  and 
contemplate  my  dirty  boots,  that  for  days  have  not 
known  blacking,  but  have  known  mud,  as  they  con- 
trast with  the  crimson  pile  velvet  on  which  they  rest. 
The  back  of  the  chair  is  raised  by  means  of  a  screw, 
until  my  head  is  in  the  proper  position  for  operation. 
First  I  have  hot  water  on  my  chin,  and  a  finger  and 
thumb  (generally  the  property  of  a  colored  gentleman) 
feels  for  my  beard  in  a  dreamy  way  with  a  view  to 
softening  the  stubble.  Then  comes  the  lather,  and 
shave  the  first,  and  I  am  about  to  get  up,  when  I  am 


310       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


stopped  by  more  lather,  and  shave  the  second ;  this  is 
conducted  in  a  slow  methodical  manner,  the  finger  and 
thumb  wandering  about  in  search  of  any  stray  hairs, 
like  gleaners  after  the  harvest. 

The  operator  says  not  a  word  to  me — San  Francisco 
barbers  are  not  loquacious — but  his  eyes  wander  to 
the  open  door,  and  suddenly  he  leaves  me  with  a 
rush,  and  apostrophizing  some  one  passing  in  the 
street,  he  says,  "  Say,  how  about  that  sugar  ?"  The 
reply  is  inaudible,  but  I  observe  that  the  barber  pro- 
duces a  sample  of  cigars  from  his  pocket,  and  says, 
44  See  here !  fifty  dollars  a  thousand  for  these  won't 
hurt  you;"  and  so,  having  failed  to  make  a  "trade" 
he  comes  back,  and,  as  he  4  4  finishes"  me,  he  observes, 
in  a  general  way,  that  4  4  Damn  him  if  that  (the  gentle- 
man in  the  street)  wasn't  the  meanest  man  in  all  crea- 
tion ! "  I  am  then  released,  and  this  was  a  San  Fran- 
cisco shaving-saloon  in  1852.  From  the  barber's  I 
proceeded  to  a  boot-blacking  saloon  kept  by  French- 
men. I  seat  myself  on  a  comfortable  fauteuil,  two 
Gauls  are  at  my  feet,  each  Gaul  has  two  brushes, 
and  such  a  friction  is  commenced  that  my  feet  are 
being  shampooed  as  much  as  my  head  was.  The 
morning  paper  has  been  handed  to  me,  and  I  have 
scarcely  settled  to  the  leading  article  when  44  Via 
M'sieur," announces  that  all  is  over.  What  a  change! 
My  boots  rival  that  famous  effigy  of  Day  and  Martin, 
whose  polish  is  ever  exciting  the  ire  of  a  contempla- 
tive cat ;  I  pay  the  money  with  pleasure,  one  shilling, 
not  before  I  am  brushed  though.  Shall  I  exchange 
my  battered  wide-awake  for  a  beaver  hat  ?  Certainly ; 
and  now  reader  I  don't  think  you  would  believe,  if 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


311 


you  saw  me,  that  I  had  just  returned  from  Tuttle- 
Town,  and  from  a  life  of  leather  breeches  and  self-in- 
flicted horse  grooming.  It  is  eight  o'clock  now,  and, 
in  an  instinctive  search  for  breakfast,  I  enter  the  Jack- 
son  House.  Here  are  a  hundred  small  tables  nearly 
all  occupied,  I  secure  one  and  peruse  the  bill  of  fare. 
I  could  have  wished  for  fresh  eggs,  but  these  were 
marked  at  two  shillings  each,  and  in  the  then  uncer- 
tain state  of  the  mine  I  considered  economy  a  duty. 
"Fricassee  de  Lapin,''  that  sounded  well,  so  I  ordered 
it ;  I  didn't  tell  the  waiter,  when  he  brought  it,  that 
it  was  not  rabbit  but  gray  squirrel,  but  I  knew  it 
from  the  experience  I  had  had  in  the  anatomy  of  that 
sagacious  animal.  It  was  very  good,  however,  and 
if  it  had  been  a  fat  Sacramento  rat,  I  daresay  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  I  should  not  have  turned  my 
nose  up  at  it ;  for  I  have  eaten  many  things  in  my 
time  that  are  not  found  on  the  "  carte"  at  Yerrey's ; 
and  when  a  man  has  once  dined  off  monkey  soup  and 
has  ladled  a  human-looking  head  out  of  the  pot  and 
has  eaten  still,  regardless  of  that  piteous  parboiled 
look,  he  can  stomach  any  thing  in  reason  ever  after. 

But  the  San  Francisco  bills  of  fare  present  at  all 
seasons  great  variety,  and  no  one  has  a  right  to  com- 
plain who  has  but  to  choose  from  bear,  elk,  deer, 
antelope,  turtle,  hares,  partridges,  quails,  wild  geese, 
brant,  numerous  kinds  of  ducks,  snipe,  plover,  curlew, 
cranes,  salmon,  trout,  and  other  fish,  and  oysters. 

It  is  not  until  you  have  been  a  long  time  without 
an  oyster  that  you  find  how  indispensable  to  your 
complete  happiness  this  bivalve  is  ;  so  soon  as  the 
want  of  it  was  generally  expressed  by  the  inhabitants 


312       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  San  Francisco,  some  enterprising  individual  gave 
his  attention  to  the  subject,  and,  after  an  adventurous 
voyage  of  discovery  along  the  coast,  he  found  a  bed, 
and  returned  with  a  cargo  of  natives  in  triumph.  This 
cargo,  however,  was  not  to  be  vinegared  and  peppered  - 
that  year,  but  was  transferred  to  a  bed  prepared  for 
its  reception  in  the  bay ;  here  the  oysters  were  left  to 
fatten  on  bran  and  other  luxuries,  and  by  next  year 
the  young  colony  had  increased  sufficiently  to  supply  • 
a  small  quantity  to  the  restaurateurs.  They  were 
very  small  innocent  oysters  at  first,  and  tasted  like  a 
teaspoonful  of  salt  water;  they  also  cost  sixpence  a 
piece,  which  was  about  their  weight  in  silver;  but 
they  were  oysters ;  a  victory  had  been  gained ;  an 
imperious  want  had  been  supplied :  we  thought  of  this 
as  we  swallowed  them,  and  were  grateful  for  them  even 
at  the  price.  Since  then  the  submarine  colony  has 
thrived  so  well  that  oysters  in  San  Francisco  are  not 
only  large,  but  comparatively  cheap,  so  that  many 
of  the  inhabitants  gratuitously  supply  the  city  with 
pavement  by  throwing  the  shells  out  into  the  street, 
as  oyster-venders  do  in  every  city  in  the  world  where 
the  law  permits.  And,  by  the  way,  it  is  not  inap- 
propriate that  the  law  should  wink  at  hecatombs  of 
obstructive  oyster  shells,  if,  as  they  say,  that  part  of 
the  fish  alone  falls  to  the  share  of  the  public ;  and  in- 
deed it  strikes  me  that  any  man  who  has  been  unfortu- 
nate enough  to  inherit  a  chancery  suit  in  this  coun- 
try, should  be  allowed  to  pile  his  oyster  shells  before 
his  door,  for  in  this  way  he  would  denote  the  number 
of  shells  that,  figuratively  speaking,  had  been  re- 
turned to  him,  and  might  thus  exemplify  the  certain- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  31& 


ty  of  the  law  of  equity  in  a  manner  suited  to  the 
meanest  capacity. 

Places  of  amusement  were  springing  up  rapidly  in 
San  Francisco,  and  these  were  of  a  better  character 
than  would  have  been  supposed.  It  was  pleasant  to 
observe  that  gambling-houses,  and  those  low  haunts 
which  in  every  country  minister  to  degrading  appe- 
tites, were  rapidly  being  swept  away  in  this  young- 
country,  and  giving  place  to  rational  recreations. 
Theatres,  reading-rooms,  and  gymnasiums ;  these  are 
good  sources  of  amusement,  be  you  where  you  will; 
read  for  the  improvement  of  your  mind,  exercise  the 
clubs  and  dumb-bells  for  the  benefit  of  your  body, 
laugh  or  cry  over  a  good  play,  and  in  a  colony  you 
are  safe  for  a  cheerful,  and  perhaps  grateful  man. 

My  old  schoolmaster,  I  remember,  was  wont  to 
characterize  the  theatre  as  the  house  of  the  devil ;  if 
so,  this  person  is  a  very  temporary  lodger,  for  often 
when  the  devil  is  in  a  man,  the  merriment  a  farce 
excites,  or  the  moral  a  drama  displays,  will  drive  it 
out  of  him ;  and  perhaps  before  to-day  a  comedy  has 
done  more  for  a  man,  in  the  way  of  correction,  than 
the  best  sermon  that  ever  was  preached  to  his  inat- 
tentive ears.  For,  when  you  can  interest  a  man,  his 
feelings  and  judgment  are  open  to  your  appeal,  and 
I  dare  say  a  great  many  of  my  readers  have,  like  my- 
self, felt  deeply  moved  at  a  drama,  the  moral  of  which 
would  have  been  unheeded  in  a  sermon,  as  inapplica- 
ble to  our  own  cases  or  positions  in  life ;  just  as, 
when  children,  we  can  only  stomach  a  powder  when 
it  is  presented  to  us  in  the  fascinating  shape  of  jam. 

Some  representations  of  poses  plastiques  that  were 
O 


314      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


exhibited  about  this  time  found  no  favor,  and  were 
cried  down  ;  but  the  enterprising  manager  of  them, 
who  was  really  a  clever  fellow,  shifted  his  ground 
from  the  study  of  the  human  frame  to  that  of  the 
human  head,  and  gave  phrenological  disquisitions  on 
the  skulls  of  Jenkins,  Stewart,  and  others,  who  had 
been  executed  by  the  Vigilance  Committee.  As  the 
bump  of  acquisitiveness  had  probably  been  the  cause 
of  the  execution  of  these  men,  the  lecturer  had  some 
difficulty  in  avoiding  personalities,  for  this  bump  was 
largely  developed  in  the  craniums  of  his  audience. 
However,  he  had  an  advantage  over  most  lecturers  on 
the  same  subject,  for  he  could  prove  two  distinct 
facts :  first,  that  the  subjects  of  his  dissertation  had 
been  hung,  and  secondly,  that  many  of  his  audience 
had  helped  to  hang  them. 

Since  that  date,  a  famous  Mexican  robber,  Joaquin 
Carrillo  by  name,  has,  with  much  trouble  and  loss  of 
life,  been  caught  and  decapitated.  "When  I  left  San 
Francisco  his  head  was  to  be  seen  by  the  curious,  pre- 
served in  spirits  of  wine ;  and  however  revolting  such 
a  spectacle  may  be,  it  is  a  punishment  that  one  would 
think  would  deter  the  reflective  from  crime.  Fancy 
one's  features  distorted  by  the  convulsive  throes  of  a 
violent  death,  staring  whitened  and  ghastly  from  a 
glass  bottle,  turned  from  with  horror  by  the  gaping 
crowd,  and  then  deposited  for  all  ages,  growing  more 
hideous  with  each  year  on  the  shelves  of  a  surgical 
museum ! 

To  take  one's  head,  as  in  olden  times,  and  place  it 
on  a  pole  until  it  became  a  whitened  skull,  is  a  benev- 
olent act  as  compared  with  the  glass  bottle  and  aqua 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  315 

fortis  that  hand  distorted  features  down  to  posterity. 
For  my  own  part,  I  can  contemplate  with  calmness 
my  bones  bleaching,  as  they  may  do,  perhaps,  in  a 
desert,  but  the  mere  thought  that  a  diseased  liver 
or  brain  of  mine  should  ever  be  labeled  and  ticketed 
in  the  museum  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  excites 
a  disgust  that  makes  me  think  burning  or  drowning 
preferable  to  a  quiet  death-bed  and  a  jjost  mortem 
examination ;  for  your  operative  surgeons  always 
find  something  in  their  subjects  worth  pocketing, 
and  if  robbing  the  dead  of  their  valuables  is  sacrile- 
gious, robbing  the  dead  of  their  liver  and  lights  is 
equally  so. 

But  still  every  scruple  must  fall  before  the  neces- 
sities of  science ;  and  I  remember  exhuming  a  Malay 
rajah  who  had  been  buried  about  a  week  without  the 
slightest  compulsion,  simply  because  science  required 
the  skeleton  of  a  Malay  rajah.  I  felt  it  was  the  duty 
of  every  man  to  aid  science,  and  the  only  remorse  I 
felt  was  when  I  found  no  jewels  in  the  coffin — not 
even  a  ring :  it  was  a  shabby  burial  the  rajah  had ! 

The  practice  of  carrying  fire-arms  in  San  Francisco 
was  still  popular  among  a  large  proportion  of  the  citi- 
zens ;  but  the  arguments  by  which  I  have  sought  to 
justify  this  habit  in  a  mountain  population  are  not 
applicable  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  for  life  and 
property  were  safe,  and  a  proper  police  force  had  been 
instituted.  Cases  of  shooting  therefore  were  still  veiy 
common,  and  dueling  in  particular  became  quite  the 
rage.  Taking  up  the  newspaper  one  day,  I  observed 
a  conspicuous  advertisement,  in  which  one  gentleman 
gave  notice  to  the  public  that  another  gentleman  "was 


316 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


a  scoundrel,  liar,  villain,  and  poltroon,"  and  signed  his 
name  to  the  announcement.  The  next  day  it  was  un- 
derstood that  the  gentleman  with  the  unenviable  titles 
intended  to  shoot  his  traducer  "  on  sight ;"  that  is  to 
say,  as  soon  as  he  could  see  him,  without  any  of  the 
preliminary  formula  of  a  hostile  meeting.  When  I 
reached  the  Plaza,  I  found  a  large  concourse  of  people 
already  assembled  to  see  the  sport ;  and  it  was  such 
a  novel  and  delicious  excitement  to  stand  in  a  circle 
and  see  two  men  inside  of  you  exchange  six  shots 
apiece,  that  had  the  matter  been  more  generally 
known,  I  do  not  think  there  would  have  been  room 
for  them  to  fight!  I  declined  waiting  to  stand  and 
be  shot  at ;  but  it  appeared  afterward  that  the  two 
gentlemen,  attended  by  their  friends,  soon  made  their 
appearance  on  opposite  sides  of  the  square,  and  that 
then  they  commenced  walking  about  the  square  as  if 
they  did  not  know  each  other,  and  when  within  shot, 
one  said  to  the  other,  "Draw  and  defend  yourself!" 
which  the  latter  did  by  sending  a  bullet  through  the 
assailant's  arm.  The  fire  then  became  warm ;  six 
shots  were  exchanged  in  .rapid  succession,  and  both 
combatants  were  taken  wounded  from  the  field — not 
mortally,  however,  for  they  recovered,  and  arranged  a 
regular  meeting,  where,  after  exchanging  half-a-dozen 
shots,  one  was  seriously  wounded ;  since  when,  I  be- 
lieve, no  more  powder  has  been  burnt  in  the  cause. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Rat-catchers. — Drays. — Crested  Partridge. — A  Marvelous  Story. — 
Sailors  in  the  Mines. — A  Verdict. — The  Quartz  has  the  hest  of  it. 
—I  leave  Tuttle-Town. 

January,  1852. 

Rats  are  very  numerous  in  San  Francisco,  as  also 
are  ratting-dogs.  The  roughest  Skyes  and  most  fe- 
rocious bull-dogs  seem  to  have  congregated  in  that 
city ;  and  so  much  interest  do  the  people  take  in  the 
destruction  of  the  common  enemy,  that  a  crowd  is 
instantly  collected  if  by  chance  a  Scotch  terrier,  ar- 
rested by  the  flavor  of  a  rat,  wags  his  tail  over  a 
heap  of  shavings.  You  will  one  day  see  a  crowd  in 
the  street,  dense  and  excited  ;  you  try  in  vain  to 
obtain  a  glimpse  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  centre ; 
from  expressions  that  reach  you,  you  feel  certain  that 
a  horrid  murder  is  being  perpetrated,  and  this  opin- 
ion is  confirmed  as  you  hear  re-echoed  the  cry,  "  He 
is  dead! — all  over!"  As  the  crowd  disperses,  there 
issues  from  it  the  rejoicing  owner  of  two  young 
prize-fighting  quadrupeds,  and  in  his  hand  is  a  large 
rat  now  all  tail  and  teeth,  "the  balance,"  as  the 
owner  remarks,  having  been  "  considerably  chawed 
up." 

Great  risk  and  expense  attend  the  shipment  of 
these  little  dogs  to  California ;  and  I  was  so  unfortu- 
nate as  not  to  land  one  of  four  very  useful  brutes  that 
I  shipped  from  the  London  Docks  for  that  country. 


318       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


A  good  horse  or  dog  is  a  treasure  to  a  Californian ; 
and  lie  will  look  upon  one  or  the  other  as  his  friend, 
and  treat  it  with  great  kindness. 

An  immense  quantity  of  drays  are  required  in  the 
city  for  the  transport  of  goods,  and  the  stranger 
will  be  at  once  struck  with  the  superiority  of  breed 
of  the  horses,  and  the  high  condition  in  which  they 
are  kept.  It  has  not  been  worth  while  of  late  to 
send  any  thing  commonplace  to  San  Francisco ;  the 
horses  therefore  that  are  driven  across  the  plains  are 
generally  strong  and  showy  animals.  "Draying" 
has  paid  very  well  here,  and  many  of  the  proprietors 
of  these  vehicles,  although  they  drive  for  themselves, 
are  well  to  do.  The  dray  harness  is  often  mounted 
in  German  silver ;  and  you  may  see  any  day  a  re- 
spectable-looking quiet  man  in  spectacles  carting  a 
load  of  hay  or  lumber,  with  a  handsome  four-in-hand 
team,  well  groomed,  and  ornamented  with  bear-skin 
trappings. 

The  new  machinery  being  completed,  I  again  started 
for  the  mines,  and  arrived  at  Tuttle-Town  without 
accident. 

We  had  tolerable  hunting-ground  in  our  vicinity, 
but  the  game  was  wild  from  having  been  too  much 
shot  at.  The  deer  lived  in  the  mountains,  and  to 
reach  them  required  much  walking,  as  the  reader 
will  understand  if  he  glances  at  the  background  of 
the  sketch  that  forms  my  frontispiece.  The  earth  on 
the  side  of  the  redwood  hills  is  generally  friable, 
and  as  it  gives  way  to  the  pressure  of  the  foot,  the 
toil  of  ascending  is  very  great,  when  the  glass  is  at 
ninety. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  319 


There  was,  however,  ample  employment  for  the 
shot-gun,  as  the  crested  partridge  abounded  in  our 
neighborhood.  I  have  not  yet  mentioned  this  bird : 
it  is  smaller  than  our  partridge,  and  has  all  its  habits, 
with  this  exception,  that  it  will  fly  to  trees  when 
disturbed.  This  I  imagine  arises  from  an  instinctive 
fear  of  vermin,  with  which  the  country  abounds,  the 
silver  gray  fox  being  very  destructive — not  to  speak 
of  coyotes,  snakes,  and  birds  of  prey.  There  is  also 
little  cover  on  the  ground,  with  the  exception  of 
stones,  and  when  the  partridge  is  undisturbed,  it 
will  busk  among  these.  The  call  of  the  male  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  English  bird.  The  crested 
partridge  is  hard  to  put  up,  being  a  great  runner ; 
harder  still  to  shoot  flying,  for  it  is  particularly  strong 
on  the  wing,  and  flies  low  on  a  ground  of  much  its 
own  color.  When  shot  and  cooked  it  is  white,  dry, 
and  insipid;  still  it  is  a  partridge,  and  as  such  is 
much  relished. 

I  will  mention  a  circumstance  here  in  connection 
with  shooting,  which  has  so  much  of  the  marvelous 
in  it  that  I  had  determined  to  omit  it. 

While  encamped  at  Santa  Rosa  Valley,  after  leav- 
ing Carrillo's  house,  we  were  visited  one  morning  by 
some  Sonorians  (probably  those  who  afterward  stole 
our  cattle).  As  they  requested  us  to  fire  a  few  shot- 
with  our  rifles  at  a  mark,  we  consented  willingly 
enough,  and  being  in  good  practice  and  in  good  luck, 
we  tired  with  success  at  dollars  and  other  small  tar- 
gets. 

An  hour  or  two  afterward,  the  three  of  us  proceed- 
ed in  search  of  venison ;  it  was  about  mid-day,  the 


320 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


sun  was  very  powerful  and  the  sky  cloudless.  Mak- 
ing for  a  shady  thicket  where  we  hoped  to  find,  we 
unexpectedly  started  a  doe  from  the  long  grass ;  she 
was  out  of  shot  before  we  could  raise  a  gun,  but  there 
still  remained  a  fawn.  Pretty  innocent !  there  it 
stood  gazing  at  us  wondrously,  and  I  warrant  had 
there  been  meat  in  our  larder  at  home,  not  one  of 
us  would  have  touched  a  trigger ;  but  lamb  is  inno- 
cent, and  yet  you  eat  it,  Madam,  and  the  only  differ- 
ence between  us  is,  that  you  have  a  butcher  to  take 
life,  and  I  had  not. 

The  fawn  stood  motionless  as  I  advanced  a  few 
paces  and  took,  as  I  imagined,  deadly  aim.  I  missed, 
and  still  it  did  not  move :  the  others  fired,  and  miss- 
ed also.  From  the  same  distance  (about  seventy-five 
yards),  we  fired  each  four  bullets  without  success ; 
still  the  fawn  moved  but  a  pace  or  two,  and  our  rifle 
ammunition  was  exhausted.  I  then  crept  up  to  the 
fawn,  and  within  twenty  paces  I  fired  twice  at  it 
with  my  pistol ;  it  then,  unharmed,  quietly  walked 
away  in  search  of  its  mother.  We  looked  at  each 
other  in  some  doubt  after  this,  and  for  a  long  time 
I  was  puzzled  to  conjecture  how  to  account  for  this 
apparently  charmed  life. 

At  last  I  solved  the  problem  in  this  way,  as  I 
thought.  The  sun  was  intensely  powerful,  and  had 
been  reflected  back  to  us  from  the  yellow  grass  on 
which  we  had  kept  our  eyes  throughout  a  long  walk  ; 
either  this  glare  or  the  rarefaction  of  the  air  had, 
probably,  caused  an  optical  delusion,  and  the  fawn 
appearing  nearer  to  us  than  in  reality  it  was,  we  fired 
under  it.    Had  this  struck  me  at  the  time,  I  would 


MOUNTAINS  AND 


MOLEHILLS. 


321 


have  searched  in  the  long  grass  for  the  place  where 
the  bullets  struck,  and  I  have  no  doubt,  considering 
the  practice  we  were  in,  that  they  would  all  have 
been  found  in  the  same  range,  and  short ;  but  on 
account  of  the  height  of  the  grass,  we  were  unable  to 
see  while  firing  where  our  balls  fell.  And  this  is  the 
sole  way  I  can  account  for  this  curious  adventure. 

This  is  the  sole  marvelous  story  I  have  to  tell, 
and  is  a  fact ;  but  so  capricious  is  reading  man,  that 
I  daresay  many  a  one  who  would  have  believed,  me 
had  I  related  the  destruction  in  one  long  shot  of  three 
buffaloes,  two  coyotes,  and  a  Digger  Indian,  will  smile 
incredulously  at  my  party  firing  fourteen  barrels  with- 
in seventy  paces  of  a  motionless  deer!  So  be  it — 
and  annotators  of  circulating  library  books  will  write 
"  Gammon!"  in  black-lead  pencil  on  the  margin,  and 
I  must  grin  while  I  writhe  under  this  infliction. 

About  three  miles  from  our  camp  was  the  Stanis- 
laus River ;  and  crossing  this  in  a  ferry-boat,  we 
would  be  at  once  in  the  vicinity  of  a  famous  digging, 
"  Carson's  Hill,"  by  name.  All  that  we  read  of  that 
is  bright  and  fairy-like,  in  connection  with  reported 
gold  discoveries,  has  been  presented  as  a  Gradgrind 
fact  at  Carson's  Hill. 

The  rivers  produced,  the  hills  produced,  and  even 
the  quartz*  produced,  having  previously  been  rotted 
by  nature,  that  man  might  pick  the  gold  out  with 
his  penknife.  "Hich  nests,"  "tall  pockets,"  "big 
strikes,"  lumps  and  chunks,  were  the  reward  of  labor 
at  Carson's  Hill ;  while  the  miserable  population  else- 

*  Rich  deposits  were  discovered,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  the  value 
of  the  quartz  generally  at  Carson's  Creek. 

0* 


322      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


where  were  content  with  ounces  of  gold,  or,  at  the 
best,  pounds. 

No  one  knows  how  many  fortunes  have  been  made 
at  Carson's  Hill,  nor  how  many  bloody  battles  have 
been  fought  there  for  the  rich  earth — but  a  great 
many.  Two  small  armies  met  once  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill,  and  parleyed,  weapons  in  hand  and  with 
savage  looks,  for  as  much  quartz  as  you  might  carry 
away  in  a  fish-cart. 

Mr.  James  Carson,  the  discoverer  of  these  diggings, 
asserts  that  in  1848  the  man  who  would  work  could 
make  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  a 
day,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this. 

At  the  time  when  this  digging  was  first  yielding 
such  immense  profits,  strict  honesty  was  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  miners ;  and  a  man  need  have  no  fear 
then,  as  he  has  now,  relative  to  keeping  his  dust  after 
he  had  found  it,  for  all  had  enough,  and  it  is  aston- 
ishing how  virtuous  we  become  under  such  circum- 
stances. A  sailor  once  asked  his  chum  if  a  bishop 
was  a  good  man?  "  He  ought  for  to  be,"  replies  the 
other,  4 'for  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  eat,  drink, 
and  sleep,  and  altogether  he  has  a  deuced  fine  berth 
of  it!"  and  Jack  hit  the  truth  in  his  own  way. 

And  sailors  are,  perhaps,  after  their  manner,  toler- 
able Christians  themselves ;  certainly  they  swear  a 
little,  and  are  said  to  devour  in  a  sandwich  the  bank- 
note that  would  serve  to  enrich  a  hospital,  as  from 
Bill  Bobstay,  Esq. ;  but  whenever  there  is  sickness 
or  poverty  among  sailors,  there  Jack  is  found  at  the 
bedside  the  tenderest  of  nurses,  and  sharing — honest 
heart ! — his  last  copper  with  a  comrade.    A  sailor  in 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  323 


the  mines  is  at  best  a  rough  and  uncomely  fellow  to 
the  sight ;  but  will  you  show  me  any  thing  more 
pleasing  to  contemplate  than  that  sturdy  fellow  there 
who  plies  his  pick-ax  to  the  tune  of  "  Oh,  Sally 
Brown  ! "  that  he  may  take  at  night  to  his  sick  friend 
in  the  tent  hard  by  the  luxuries  he  needs  ?  The  sail- 
ors in  the  mines  have  been  ever  distinguished  for  self- 
denial ;  and  whenever  I  see  "prim  goodness"  frown 
at  the  rough,  careless  sailor's  oath  that  will  mingle 
now  and  then  with  his  "ye  ho!"  I  think  to  myself, 
"  Take  out  your  heart,  'prim  goodness,'  and  lay.it  by 
the  side  of  Jack's,  and  offer  me  the  choice  of  the  two, 
and  maybe  it  won't  be  yours  I'll  take,  for  all  that  you 
are  faultless  to  the  world's  eye." 

Liberality  was  so  great  in  those  days,  that  if  a 
stranger  came  to  the  mines  and  had  but  the  appear- 
ance of  one  who  would  work,  he  had  no  difficulty  in 
borrowing  from  any  one  all  that  was  required  for  start- 
ing him,  his  muscles  and  sinews  being  the  sole  guar- 
antee for  repayment. 

It  was  near  Carson's  Hill  that  poor  Boyd  worked 
with  a  gang  of  men,  though  with  what  success  I  do 
not  know.  Boyd  was  an  English  gentleman  of  inde- 
pendence ;  and  in  his  yacht,  the  "  Wanderer,"  he  had 
visited  nearly  every  place  on  the  globe.  He  was  fitted 
in  every  respect  for  the  roving  life  he  had  chosen,  and 
was  equally  at  home  whether  he  roughed  it  in  the 
mountains  or  played  the  host  on  board  the  "Wan- 
derer." Shortly  after  he  left  San  Francisco,  he  landed 
at  Solomon's  Island  to  shoot  wild  fowl,  and  there  was 
cruelly  murdered  by  the  natives.  None  who  knew 
him  heard  of  his  fate  without  regret ;  and  as  a  finale 


324      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


to  the  life  of  this  adventurous  man,  the  "Wanderer" 
soon  after  went  ashore  and  was  lost. 

A  gulch  which  branches  off  from  Carson's,  and 
which  proved  very  rich,  was  discovered  under  circum- 
stances of  great  solemnity,  and  I  am  indebted  to  Mr. 
Carson  for  the  anecdote. 

One  of  the  miners  died,  and  having  been  much  re- 
spected, it  was  determined  to  give  him  a  regular  fune- 
ral. A  digger  in  the  vicinity,  who,  report  said,  had 
once  been  a  powerful  preacher  in  the  United  States, 
was  .called  upon  to  officiate ;  and  after  "  drinks  all 
round,"  the  party  proceeded,  with  becoming  gravity, 
to  the  grave,  which  had  been  dug  at  a  distance  of  a 
hundred  yards  from  the  camp.  When  this  spot  was 
reached,  the  officiating  minister  commenced  with  an 
extempore  prayer,  during  which  all  knelt  round  the 


THE   MINER'S  GRAVE. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  325 


grave.  So  far  was  well ;  but  the  prayer  was  unnec- 
essarily long,  and  at  last  some  of  those  who  knelt, 
began,  in  an  abstracted  way,  to  finger  the  loose  earth 
that  had  been  thrown  up  from  the  grave.  It  was 
thick  with  gold ;  and  an  excitement  was  immediately 
apparent  in  the  kneeling  crowd.  Upon  this  the 
preacher  stopped,  and  inquiringly  said,  "Boys,  what's 
that?  Gold!"  he  continued,  "and  the  richest  kind 
of  diggings — the  congregation  are  dismissed  I"  The 
poor  miner  was  taken  from  his  auriferous  grave  and 
was  buried  elsewhere,  while  the  funeral  party,  with 
the  parson  at  their  head,  lost  no  time  in  prospecting 
the  new  digging. 

The  population  of  the  diggings,  in  1848,  was  as 
varied  as  can  be  well  imagined  ;  every  nation  and  call- 
ing was  represented  there,  from  an  ex-governor  to  a 
Digger  Indian.  But  among  this  motley  crew  lawyers 
predominated ;  and  if  we  may  judge  by  the  fees  they 
received,  and  the  quality  of  the  law  they  exchanged 
for  them,  they  had  brought  their  forensic  knowledge 
to  a  fine  market.  As  magistrates  and  other  officers 
were  required  in  the  different  mining  districts,  they 
were  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  miners,  and  formed 
a  court  of  law. 

All  mining  disputes  were  submitted  to  these  courts, 
and  whatever  might  be  the  decision  given,  that  was 
considered  the  law,  which  saved  all  trouble  of  appeal. 
The  following  incident  will  convey  some  idea  of  law 
in  the  diggings  at  this  time. 

Two  Spaniards,  who  had  amassed  a  large  quantity 
of  gold  dust  by  successful  digging,  quarreled  over  the 
possession  of  an  old  mule  that  was  scarcely  worth  her 


326      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


DRAWING  STRAWS. 


keep,  and  applied  to  the  alcalde,  or  magistrate,  to  set- 
tle the  dispute.  Before  a  word  was  said,  however, 
each  "  Greaser"  had  to  pay  three  ounces  of  dust  for 
expenses  of  the  court ;  and  then,  both  speaking  at 
once,  each  related  his  own  tale  in  Spanish,  which  was 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  327 


a  language  unintelligible  to  the  court.  After  this,  they 
were  informed  by  his  Honor,  through  an  interpreter, 
that  they  had  better  leave  the  case  to  the  decision  of 
a  jury.  To  this  they  agreed,  and  having  paid  two 
ounces  more  in  advance  to  the  sheriff,  that  officer 
summoned  a  jury  from  the  adjacent  diggings.  After 
hearing  their  statements,  which  were  very  voluminous, 
the  jury  retired  to  deliberate  upon  their  verdict.  Upon 
their  return  they  declared  that  the  testimony  was  so 
contradictory  that  they  could  not  award  the  mule  to 
either,  but  that  the  claimants  must  decide  the  owner- 
ship by  drawing  straws  for  the  animal,  and  that  the 
costs  should  be  equally  divided.  These  amounted  to 
twenty  ounces,  to  which  three  more  were  added  for 
payment  of  the  liquor  bill.  Just  as  the  disputants 
had  paid  up  this  bill,  and  were  about  to  settle  the 
ownership  in  the  prescribed  manner,  it  was  announced 
that  they  might  save  themselves  the  trouble,  for  an- 
other 1 4  Greaser"  had  taken  the  opportunity  to  steal 
the  mule,  and  had  departed  to  parts  unknown. 

A  few  Digger  Indians  worked  occasionally  in  our 
vicinity,  having  discovered  that  gold  would  purchase 
fine  clothes  and  rum,  which  was  all  they  cared  for. 
The  outfits  they  procured  with  their  dust  varied  ac- 
cording to  taste.  One  would  prefer  half  a  dozen 
shirts,  and  wear  them  all  at  once ;  another  would  be 
content  with  a  gaudy  Mexican  hat  and  a  pair  of  jack- 
boots ;  so  that  their  partial  adoption  of  civilized  cos- 
tume only  served  to  render  the  uncovered  parts  of 
their  bodies  ridiculously  conspicuous. 

The  Indians  of  California  have  a  tradition  among 
them  which  points  to  the  days  when  volcanic  erup- 


328       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


tions  devastated  the  country,  and  destroyed  all  living- 
things  but  Indians.  No  traces  of  an  earlier  race  are 
to  be  found,  however,  as  yet,  in  Upper  California ; 
nor  have  the  Indians  the  faintest  knowledge  of  pic- 
torial signs  or  symbols.  I  am  inclined,  therefore,  to 
think  that  the  present  tribes  have  been  migratory. 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  California,  that  although  it  is 
so  rich  in  flowers,  the  wild  bee  is  never  found  there, 
nor  did  I  ever  hear  a  singing-bird.  Digging  in  the 
mines  is  suspended  by  general  accord  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  that  day  is  usually  spent  very  quietly  in  camp, 
particularly  as  the  more  boisterous  characters  go  to 
the  nearest  town  to  amuse  themselves.  A  walk  over 
the  mountains,  rifle  in  hand,  with  an  eye  to  business 
in  the  shape  of  "  prospecting,"  is  often  the  employ- 
ment of  the  more  sedate ;  and  if  the  miner  sometimes 
finds  on  a  Sunday  what  serves  him  for  an  honest 
livelihood  on  week  days,  he  is,  mayhap,  no  worse, 
sir,  than  you  whose  thoughts,  even  in  a  church,  are 
not  always  separate  from  the  pounds  shillings  and 
pence  you  require  for  the  engagements  of  the  coming 
week. 

During  this  time  the  work  at  the  mines  progressed 
steadily ;  and  the  new  machinery  being  ready,  we 
started  it,  fully  confident  of  success.*  Again  was 
our  engine  placed  under  contribution  for  four  horses' 
more  power  than  it  was  built  for,  and  again  did  our 
machinery  turn  out  a  signal  failure :  in  fact,  we  had 
iron  only  where  we  should  have  had  the  hardest  of 
steel,  and  in  consequence,  instead  of  our  mill  grind- 
ing the  quartz,  the  quartz  had  the  best  of  it,  and 
*  Our  object  was  still  only  to  experimentalize. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  329 


ground  the  mill;  and  as  it  was  gold  I  wanted,  and 
not  iron  filings,  I  determined  for  the  present  to  aban- 
don my  third  profitless  speculation. 

Agriculturally,  architecturally,  and  mineralogically, 
I  had  been  sported  with  by  fate — and  the  plow  in  the 
north,  the  steam-engine  in  the  south,  and  the  hotel  in 
the  middle,  had  each  been  accompanied  by  pecuniary 
loss.  Yet  the  days  I  had  passed  had  been  very 
happy,  and  Philosophy  said:  "You  have  had  health, 
and  contentment,  and  warm  friendship  ;  and  if  these 
were  purchasable,  many  would  buy  them  of  you  for 
twenty  times  what  you  have  lost  in  money  ! "  To 
which  I  replied,  "Very  true,  oh,  Philosophy!  but 
had  I  taken  my  steam-engine  to  Russian  River,  and 
there  applied  its  power  to  sawing  redwoods,  and  had 
I  with  my  plow  turned  up  the  fertile  hills  and  valleys 
at  Yallejo,  and  further,  had  I  erected  my  hotel  at 
Sonora,  where  it  was  much  wanted,  I  might  have 
still  had  the  unpurchasable  articles  you  allude  to,  and 
the  money  too."  Upon  which  Philosophy,  seeing  me 
thus  unreasonable,  retired  from  the  contest. 

Close  upon  this  disaster  there  arrived  a  batch  of 
letters  for  me.  My  friend  in  San  Francisco  had 
died,  and  letters  from  home  rendered  my  return  to 
England  necessary.  To  return  again,  though — and 
to  Tuttle-Town — on  that  point  I  was  determined, 
"wind  and  weather  permitting,"  as  we  say  afloat. 

I  sold  my  steam-engine  to  some  wretched  favor- 
ites of  fortune,  who  took  it  to  a  gulch  and  made  mon- 
ey there  and  then.  I  sold  Mainspring,  and  Tiger, 
and  Bevis,  with  grief.  I  might  have  given  them 
away,  but  I  know  that  a  man  will  often  give  more 


330       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


care  and  kindness  to  the  animal  he  has  paid  for,  than 
to  that  he  gets  for  nothing!  and  many  a  one  who 
cares  little  for  the  comfort  of  a  horse,  is  mightily 
particular  in  respect  of  the  hundred  guineas  the  animal 
is  worth ! 

The  tools  and  houses  I  left  with  Howe,  Barnes, 
and  Thomas.  The  Mexicans  I  discharged,  and  pre- 
sented them  with  the  bullock  hides  and  frying-pan, 
so  that  they  were  not  altogether  homeless ;  then  I 
bade  farewell  to  my  mining  village,  but  not  yet  to 
the  Virginia  men,  the  carpenter  Judge,  or  constable 
Howe,  for  these  good  fellows  accompanied  me  for  the 
first  thirty  miles  of  my  journey.  Then  we  parted, 
and  I  firmly  believe  with  equal  regret  on  either  side. 
Why  not  ?  There  had  never  been  an  unkind  word 
between  us  in  a  year  of  mountain  life,  and  as  I  reiter- 
ated at  the  last,  4  4  I'll  soon  be  back,  boys  !"  they  knew 
full  well  that  my  resolution  would  be  upheld  by  the 
memory  of  kindnesses  received  from  them. 

Again  I  plod  down  on  the  "  Old  Soldier,"  who  has 
seen  the  last  of  Choctaw,  although  he  does  not  know 
it.  Is  it  a  wonder  that  I  was  sorrowful  when  I  left 
behind  me  so  much  that  had  contributed  to  render 
my  life  happy  ?  But  I  should  have  been  more  so  had 
I  known  then  that  I  had  seen  the  last  of  Tuttle-Town 
and  its  inhabitants ! 


CHAPTER  XXL 


Advice  to  Emigrants. —  Gold  Countries. — Self-doctoring. —  Advice 
continued. — I  Arrive  at  Stockton. 

January,  1852. 

We  know  that  the  militia  of  the  United  States  is 
very  numerous,  inasmuch  as  it  consists  of  every  man 
capable  of  bearing  arms ;  but  it  certainly  would  ap- 
pear that  all  the  officers  have  emigrated  to  California, 
so  universal  are  the  military  titles  there.  Now  as  I 
proceed  to  Stockton  I  meet  here  and  there  old  min- 
ing acquaintances  working  at  the  gulches  that  I  have 
to  cross.  I  am  startled  by  a  voice  from  a  deep  hole 
with,  "  How  are  you,  Captain  ?"  (I  rank  as  Captain 
in  California,  being  nothing  ;  if  I  was  a  real  Captain 
I  should  of  course  be  a  General  there).  I  turn  then 
and  at  once  recognize  a  familiar  face,  spite  of  the 
mud  with  which  it  is  plastered.  "Ah,  Colonel," 
I  reply,  "what  luck?  How  does  the  gulch  pay?" 
"  Pison  bad,"  replies  the  soldier,  and  as  I  depart  he 
shouts,  "  You'll  see  the  Judge  at  Cock-a-doodle  Creek, 
and  the  Major  with  him,  working  on  shares,  and 
they're  the  two  meanest" — the  rest  is  lost  to  me,  as 
the  Colonel  again  disappears  in  his  subterranean  coyote 
digging. 

Further  on  I  encounter  the  Judge  and  Major  at 
work  at  a  "  long-tom,"  and  "  How  are  you,  Captain  ?" 
I  am  asked  again.  "Did  you  see  the  Colonel?"  says 
the  Judge.    I  answer  in  the  affirmative.    "  He's  con- 


332 


M OUNTAI N S 


A  N  1) 


MOLEHILLS. 


siderable  of  a  snake,"  says  the  Major.  "He's  nothing 
shorter/'  adds  the  Judge.  "He's  small  potatoes* 
any  how,*'  remarks  the  Major.  I  back  these  opinions, 
being  out  of  shot  of  the  Colonel's  revolver.  "Will 
you  trade  that  horse  ?"  asks  the  Judge.  "  He's  not 
for  sale,"  I  answer,  and  ride  off.  He  was  for  sale 
though,  but  not  to  carry  gravel  from  the  hillside  for 
Judges  and  Majors  to  make  money  from,  while  the 
"  Old  Soldier"  picked  a  scanty  subsistence  from  the 
brushwood  on  the  mountains.  When  I  leave  these 
worthies  behind  me,  I  have  seen  the  last  of  the  dig- 
gings. 

I  have  written  favorably,  it  will  be  perceived,  as  re- 
gards the  reward  held  out  by  the  gold-fields  of  Cali- 
fornia, to  those  who  having  arrived  there  have  seized 
properly  the  advantages  that  siirrounded  them,  and  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saving,  that  to  the  industrious, 
healthy,  and  temperate  man,  a  comfortable  livelihood 
is  certain  ;  beyond  this  much  will  depend  upon  his 
energy  and  ability,  and  as  regards  grand  results,  I 
may  add  speculative  feeling.  I  find  it  impossible  to 
place  in  proper  shape  any  remarks  that  could  be  adapt- 
ed to  the  intending  emigrant,  but  I  will  attempt  to  lay 
down  a  few  broad  facts  that  will  apply  equally  to  all 
gold  countries. 

It  has  appeared  to  me  that  a  great  number  of  those 
who  fail,  must  attribute  then  ill  success  to  not  having 
previous  to  starting  laid  down  the  course  they  intend- 
ed to  pursue. 

*  The  reader  will  perceive  the  bitter  irony  conveyed  in  this  ex- 
pression as  contrasted  with  the  complimentary  one  of  "  some  pump- 
kins." 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


333 


The  emigrant,  of  whatever  class,  should  have  some 
thing  definite  in  view ;  for,  like  a  ship  of  discovery, 
lie  has  before  him,  as  it  were,  an  nnnavigated  sea, 
and  unknown  rocks  and  shoals  will  cause  him  often 
to  deviate  from  his  track,  but  it  should  be  only  to  re- 
turn by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  prosecution  of  his 
journey.  But  if  he  leaves  home  on  the  broad  princi- 
ple of  "trying  his  luck,"  he  will  not  only  be  the  easier 
cast  down  by  adverse  circumstances,  but  he  will  stand 
the  least  chance  of  any  of  becoming  eventually  suc- 
cessful. The  truth  of  this  was  exemplified  in  the 
case  of  the  English  officers  whom  I  found  watering 
cabbages  at  Napa ;  they  had  not  even  decided  then 
what  they  should  do,  or  how  they  should  turn  their 
ability  to  account. 

It  is  a  great  drawback  to  the  laboring  emigrant  to 
a  gold  country  that  he  generally  lands  without  capital, 
and  is  obliged  at  once  to  work  where  and  how  he 
may.  This,  however,  may  be  said  to  him — that  Cali- 
fornian  experience  shows  that,  in  the  long  run,  the 
man  does  best  who,  having  prudently  amassed  some 
money  at  the  diggings,  tarns  his  capital  and  abilities 
to  the  channel  into  which  they  were  originally  di- 
rected at  home :  thus,  if  he  has  been  an  agricultural 
laborer,  let  him  farm  so  soon  as  he  has  saved  some- 
thing;  if  a  tailor,  let  him  turn  back  to  the  mining 
city,  with  his  nuggets  in  his  pockets,  and  there  set 
up  in  trade:  for  the  diggings  will  be  replenished  by 
new-comers,  and  high  prices,  whether  for  potatoes  or 
trowsers,  will  still  (unless  peculiarly  affected  by  over- 
shipment)  be  maintained  in  a  fair  proportion  to  the 
yield  of  gold;  and  it  stands  to  reason  that,  if  all 


334      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


labor  in  the  diggings  is  compensated  proportionately 
with  that  of  the  digger,  it  is  better  for  a  working  man 
to  labor  at  the  trade  he  understands.  The  uncertainty 
of  the  miner's  life  is  thus  avoided,  and  if  the  profits 
are  sometimes  smaller,  that  is  more  than  compensated 
for  by  regularity ;  for  it  is  an  extraordinary  fact  that, 
let  the  diggings  fall  off  as  they  will,  the  miners  will 
still  require  bread  and  breeches,  and  will  find  the 
money  to  pay  for  them. 

When  gold-fields  are  first  discovered  the  profits  of 
professional  labor  are  proportionately  great  with  the 
rate  of  wages,  and  it  would  appear,  at  the  first  glance, 
that  a  fine  field  was  opened  at  these  times  for  the 
emigration  of  professional  young  men  ;  but  I  find  that 
those  occupations  which  combine  at  first  large  profits 
with  comparatively  easy  labor,  have  soon  so  many 
aspirants  that  the  markets  become  glutted,  and  the 
large  profits  are  short-lived.  Thus,  in  California  the 
proportion  of  lawyers  is  very  great,  and  it  would  be 
a  sad  thing  for  that  country  if  every  legal  man  there 
could  live  by  his  profession.  Therefore  it  would 
seem  that  a  man  of  education  should  more  than  all 
shape  his  course  before  he  starts ;  and  I  think  it 
would  be  wise  for  every  emigrant,  let  his  ability  be 
what  it  may,  to  consider  what  he  is  fit  for,  to  fall 
back  ujpon  in  event  of  his  finding  his  profession  profit- 
less. 

It  is  requisite  for  an  emigrant  of  superior  class  that 
he  should  possess  at  least  three  qualifications  inde- 
pendent of  his  abilities ;  viz.,  a  small  amount  of  capi- 
tal, a  good  constitution,  and  an  absence  of  all  pride 
but  that  which  nerves  a  man  to  accomplish  all  that 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  335 


he  undertakes  honestly,  be  it  what  it  may !  Such  a 
man  is  an  acquisition  to  a  colony,  and  if  his  fortunes 
are  adverse  he  is  an  exception  to  the  rule. 

The  reader  may  observe  that  my  own  failures 
scarcely  bear  out  this  remark,  and  this  is  true;  but 
my  efforts  were  of  an  experimental  nature,  and,  as  I 
observed  elsewhere,  Fortune  has  ever  snubbed  me, 
but  the  jade  does  it  so  gently  that  I  forgive  her. 

The  emigrating  reader  may  try  farming,  house- 
building, or  quartz-mining  with  perfect  security  for 
all  that  bears  upon  the  case  in  my  experience,  unless 
indeed  my  narrative  serves  to  point  out  to  him  the 
folly  of  embarking  in  what  one  does  not  understand; 
and  I  would  rather,  if  he  pleases,  attribute  my  fail- 
ures to  that  cause,  for  I  thereby  bring  to  his  notice  a 
golden  rule  he  can  never  keep  too  much  in  view.  But 
this  much  is  borne  out  by  the  histories  of  California 
and  Australia,  that  gold  countries  increase  permanent- 
ly in  wealth  and  prosperity;  therefore  the  emigrant 
need  not  be  downcast  by  present  misfortune,  he  has 
but  still  to  strive,  and,  in  common  with  all,  he  will 
reap  eventually  the  fruits  of  the  great  blessings  which 
the  Creator  has  been  pleased  to  shower  on  these  lands. 
He  needs  no  better  assurance  than  that  he  carries 
health,  industry,  and  patience  to  a  colony  that  is  in  a 
state  of  rapidly  progressing  improvement ;  and  if,  in 
those  countries  he  may  visit,  as  much  care  has  been 
taken  as  in  California  to  provide  hospitals  for  the 
sick,  and  asylums  for  the  destitute,  free  of  charge, 
why  he  may  land,  if  it  so  happens,  shattered  in  mind 
and  body,  and  be  yet  turned  out  a  good  man  and 
true,  to  aid  by  his  pickax  or  his  plow  the  general 


336       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


prosperity  of  the  state  that  provides  with  so  much 
forethought  for  the  casualties  that  may  beset  him. 

Something  has  been  said  already,  and  with  good 
purpose,  to  aid  the  emigrant  in  preserving  his  health 
under  the  influence  of  a  new  climate,  and  I  will  intro- 
duce a  few  remarks  that  have  resulted  from  my  own 
experience,  which  has  not  been  confined  entirely  to 
the  adventures  herein  related. 

I  would  strongly  advise  every  man  to  wear  flannel 
or  woven  stuff  next  his  skin,  and  let  him  never  re- 
move that  which  encases  the  upper  part  of  the  body 
but  of  a  morning,  when  he  bathes  himself  from  head 
to  foot ;  flannel  on  the  chest  and  abdomen  is  more  re- 
quisite perhaps  by  night  than  by  day  to  those  who 
are  subjected  to  exposures. 

Dispense  with  what  is  termed  a  medicine-chest, 
but  which  is,  generally  speaking,  a  box  of  rubbish, 
and  even  if  well  fitted  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  have  by 
you. 

Certain  merchant  vessels,  which  do  not  carry  "  an 
experienced  surgeon,"  are  supplied  with  medicine- 
chests  and  an  accompanying  book  of  reference.  It  is 
related  that  one  tarry  fellow  once  applied  to  his  cap- 
tain for  relief;  his  complaint  was  "that  he  had  some- 
thing on  his  stomach."  Under  these  circumstances 
the  skipper  turned  over  his  pharmacopoeia,  and  at  once 
prescribed  two  teaspoonfuls  of  No.  15  (the  drugs  being 
numerically  arranged);  on  an  inspection  of  the  "chest" 
it  was  found  that  No.  15  had  "  given  out,"  and  for  the 
moment  it  seemed  that  Jack  was  likely  to  die  from 
want  of  medical  assistance ;  but  the  skipper  had  a 
forethought.    There  was  plenty  of  No.  8 — plenty  of 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  337 

No.  7 ;  seven  and  eight  make  fifteen,  says  the  cap- 
tain, and  Jack,  to  whom  this  calculation  seemed  quite 
natural,  took  two  teaspoonfuls  of  the  joint  mixture, 
and  with  so  much  benefit  as  this,  that  whatever  was 
"  on  his  stomach"  came  up  with  a  rapidity  that  would 
have  astonished  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons.  Al- 
though the  intelligent  emigrant  would  not  make  so 
great  a  blunder  as  this,  he  might  make  a  greater,  and 
kill  himself,  even  while  strictly  following  out  his 
medicine  book.  For  self-doctoring  becomes  a  mania, 
and,  as  with  some  men,  you  must  keep  the  bottle  away 
if  you  would  have  them  sober,  so  with  others,  you 
must  deprive  them  of  calomel  and  opium  if  you  would 
have  them  healthy.  I  have  met  many  infatuated 
fellows,  who,  on  the  first  symptom  of  fever,  have  sali- 
vated themselves,  from  an  inherent  faith  in  the  efficacy 
of  mercury ;  and  to  see  a  man  in  the  rainy  season  in 
a  canvas  tent,  lying  on  a  damp  floor  and  in  damp 
blankets,  bolting  calomel  pills,  is  a  sight  that  soon 
becomes  very  sad,  and  yet  is  very  common.  American 
emigrants  are  very  prone  to  carry  with  them  a  prepa- 
ration of  mercury,  called  "  blue  mass  ;"  fortunately  for 
them  there  is  more  clay  and  rubbish  than  any  thing 
else  in  the  composition.  I  shall  carry  with  me,  when 
I  next  start  for  a  region  where  doctors  are  not,  half  a 
gallon  of  castor-oil  in  a  tin  bottle,  a  few  trifles  for  the 
cure  of  wounds,  mustard,  and  quinine;  if  the  emigrant 
can  afford  it,  this  latter  should  always  form  part  of  his 
stock.  As  regards  castor-oil,  I  can  only  say  that  it  was 
the  sole  medicine  I  took  when  attacked  by  malignant 
yellow  fever,  and  that  I  was  the  only  survivor  of  the 
passengers  of  the  steamer  "Dee"  that  were  attacked. 

P 


338       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


When  first  arrived  at  his  new  home  the  emigrant 
should  avoid  exposure  to  the  mid-day  sun  or  night 
air ;  "but  if  he  Ibe  a  digger  in  the  gold-fields,  let  him 
make  this  rule,  that  so  soon  as  he  feels  the  first 
symptom  of  illness,  he  will  lay  by  for  twenty-four 
hours.  Premonitory  fever  can  he  arrested  very  easily 
by  rest  and  quiet,  hut  in  nearly  every  instance  it  is 
aggravated  to  a  dangerous  pitch  by  a  feeling  of  pride 
that  will  not  allow  a  man  to  surrender ;  and  the  fear 
of  the  jeers  of  his  healthier  companions  will  often  cause 
a  man  to  continue  work,  when  prudence  would  dictate 
an  opposite  course.  When  headache  and  sickness 
attack  you,  then  you  may  give  in.  A  dose  of  medicine 
and  a  little  rest  will  restore  you,  and  shortly  you  will 
become  acclimated ;  but  if  you  fight  against  feverish 
symptoms,  you  may  recover,  but  will  probably  be  a 
wreck  for  life.  There  is  an  inclination  to  bathe  when 
fever  first  appears  ;  avoid  that.  I  became  very  ill 
from  bathing  in  the  Chagres  river  one  evening,  to  re- 
lieve, as  I  thought,  the  headache  consequent  on  ex- 
posure to  the  heat,  and  Barnes  nearly  succumbed  to  a 
fever  produced  by  the  same  cause ;  and  although  they 
are  not  mentioned  in  this  narrative  in  then*  proper 
places,  several  cases  of  intermittent  fever  have  from 
time  to  time  appeared  among  my  party,  otherwise  I 
should  not  presume  to  lay  down  any  rule  for  the  guid- 
ance of  others  ;  nor  would  I  now,  but  that  I  have  seen 
so  many  lose  their  lives  from  a  want  of  the  most  or- 
dinary precaution.  I  would  advise  the  emigrant  to 
the  gold-fields  to  encumber  himself  as  little  as  pos- 
sible with  what  is  called  an  "  outfit."  Flannel  cloth- 
ing, thick  socks,  and  the  best  highlows  that  can  be 
made  for  money,  he  should  select  with  care.    Let  him 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


339 


take  also  good  "blankets.  There  is  no  better  protec- 
tion for  a  man  in  wet  seasons  than  a  blanket  with  a 
hole  cut  in  the  middle  for  his  head  to  come  through : 
the  body  is  free,  the  perspiration  is  unconfined,  and 
you  can't  wear  the  blanket  out.  India-rubber  I  can 
not  recommend ;  it  is,  I  believe,  more  productive  of 
ague  than  any  thing  else,  for  it  confines  the  perspira- 
tion, and  subjects  the  wearer  to  a  sudden  check  when 
it  is  removed.  An  India-rubber  counterpane  is  useful, 
but  should  be  placed  over,  not  under,  for  it  absorbs 
the  moisture  at  all  seasons,  and  makes  a  point 
of  sending  the  rheumatism  into  your  back  if  you  lie 
on  it.*  An  India-rubber  cap,  with  a  curtain  to  pro- 
tect the  neck,  is  very  useful  in  rainy  weather,  but 
should  be  lined  with  flannel  or  felt.  If  you  intend  to 
dig,  have  one  or  two  pickaxes  and  crowbars  made 
under  your  own  supervision ;  exported  tools  are  too 
often  made  of  very  inferior  iron,  and  it  is  money  well 
spent  to  pay  something  over  the  market  price  for  a 
pickax  that  won't  turn  its  nose  up  at  you  the  in- 
stant you  drive  it  into  the  hillside. 

After  one  of  the  San  Francisco  fires  an  intelligent 
blacksmith  bought  up  a  quantity  of  '  '  burnt-out"  gun- 
barrels  ;  these  were  filled  up  to  give  weight,  and  the 
breach  of  each  was  fashioned  to  the  shape  of  a  crow- 
bar. These  instruments  sold  very  well ;  but  if  ever 
there  is  a  calendar  of  saints  in  California,  that  enter- 
prising blacksmith  will  not  be  one  of  them !  or  if  he 
is,  he  will  have  been  sworn  at  more  than  a  saint  by 
right  should  be. 

*  The  best  use  to  which  an  India-rubber  sheet  can  be  put,  is  to  pro- 
tect during  the  day  that  part  of  the  ground  on  which  you  sleep  at  night. 


340      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

I  have  said  all  that  occurs  to  me  would  be  of  service 
to  the  emigrant:  it  is  little  enough,  and  may  have 
been  said  before ;  but  if  it  only  corroborates  the  ex- 
perience of  others,  it  answers  fully  the  end  I  have  in 
view.  And  I  have  no  hesitation  in  submitting  these 
remarks,  for  the  great  advantage  of  one  man  falling 
into  a  pit  is  that  he  can  show  thousands  how  to  avoid 
it.  I  have  plunged  headlong  into  many  such  holes, 
and  as  I  would  myself  avoid  them  for  the  future,  so  I 
would  that  others  should.  And  although  in  the  form 
that  this  is  published  it  will  not  probably  meet  the 
eye  of  the  poor  man ;  still,  if  those  who  through  the 
journals  they  conduct  so  bravely  cheer  and  assist  the 
emigrant,  see  any  thing  in  these  remarks  that  may 
save  him  from  unnecessary  expense  or  sickness,  they 
will,  I  know,  too  gladly  in  their  own  way  extend  the 
aid  which  I  intend.  Above  all,  I  would  that  the  emi- 
grant who  has  a  little  money  should  be  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  carrying  as  much  of  his  fund 
out  with  him  as  he  can.  The  best  ten  pounds  a  poor 
man  can  spend  is  that  which  enables  him  on  his  ar- 
rival in  a  new  country  to  look  about  him  for  a  day  or 
two  before  he  begins  his  work. 

When  I  arrived  at  Stockton,  I  found  the  streets  of 
that  city  so  cut  up  by  the  traffic  of  the  winter,  that  in 
many  parts  of  the  public  thoroughfare  there  were  mud 
holes  that  it  was  necessary  to  avoid.  The  spectators 
on  the  pathway  became  quite  interested  as  I  plunged 
through  the  main  street  on  the  Old  Soldier,  and  one 
would  have  thought  that  I  was  a  steamboat  on  the 
point  of  explosion  by  the  crowd  that  followed  my 
movements.    I  was  already  deep  over  my  saddle- 


MOUNTAINS    AND     MOLEHILLS.  341 


girths ;  but  the  Old  Soldier,  maddened  by  the  jeers 
of  the  inhabitants,  made  short  work  of  it,  and  landed 
at  last,  "blown,"  on  comparatively  dry  ground.  It 
appeared  afterward  that  I  had  entered  Stockton  by  a 
street  that  had  for  the  last  month  been  considered 
impassable,  and  was  so  to  any  but  a  high-couraged 
animal ;  but  as  the  Old  Soldier's  feet  were  nearly  as 
large  as  soup-plates,  he  had  an  advantage  over  most 
beasts  in  getting  through  dirt. 

I  slept  that  night  in  a  Stockton  hotel,  and  waking 
at  dawn,  I  started  out  of  bed  and  raised  a  shout ;  it 
was  but  the  force  of  habit ;  but  although  the  Tuttle- 
tonian  pigs  were  nearly  a  degree  of  longitude  away,  I 
had  mechanically  armed  myself  with  the  water-jug 
before  I  remembered  the  fact. 

The  next  morning  I  started  for  San  Francisco  in  a 
very  small  steamboat,  and  seeing  the  San  Joaquin 
river  for  the  first  time  by  daylight,  I  observed  that  it 
was  very  ugly ;  it  only  required  alligators  to  make  it 
perfect  in  this  respect.  There  was  but  one  wheel  to 
our  boat,  and  that  was  astern ;  and  as  the  accommo- 
dation part  of  the  vessel  was  built  to  a  great  height, 
it  was  something  like  a  small  wheelbarrow  with  a 
large  trunk  on  it,  going  the  wrong  way.  "We  passed 
Benicia  with  a  fair  tide,  and  after  stemming  a  stiff 
breeze — of  which  the  Old  Soldier  got  the  full  benefit, 
as  he  was  in  the  stem  of  the  boat,  and  formed  a  tem- 
porary figure-head — we  arrived  at  San  Francisco  about 
dusk.  I  was  fortunate  in  getting  a  kind  master  for  the 
old  horse,  and  I  have  seen  him  since,  fatter  than  ever 
he  was  with  me,  carrying  vegetables  about  the  town 
with  no  more  pride  than  if  he  was  a  common  animal. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


Elections. — Executions. — Reforms. — Exiles. — "  Know  Nothings." — 
Testimonials.  — Speaking  Trumpets.  —  Ocean  Steamers.  —  Life- 
buoys.— Air-boats. — Confidence  necessary. — Fitting  a  Raft. — A 
Suggestion. 

March,  1852. 

When  I  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  I  found  the  au- 
thorities very  busy  altering  the  grades  of  the  streets, 
and  covering  them  with  planks. 

As  the  rear  of  the  town  had  been  built  on  sand,  at 
an  elevation  of  some  twenty  feet  above  the  new  grade, 
the  houses  there  had  soon  the  appearance  of  being 
built  on  the  edge  of  a  dry  ravine,  into  which  most  of 
them  tumbled  one  by  one.  These  house-slips  would 
generally  take  place  by  night ;  but  as  the  buildings 
were  of  the  band-box  style  of  architecture,  no  harm 
was  done  when  one  of  them  rolled  down  the  hill,  fur- 
ther than  an  awful  smashing  of  the  domestic  crockery. 
Those  tenements  that  outlived  this  trying  season,  were 
seized  with  a  panic,  and  changed  their  quarters. 

Some  were  raised  bodily  by  means  of  lever  screws, 
and  being  placed  on  rollers,  were  pushed  and  hauled 
into  a  position  of  safety,  while  the  very  small  ones 
were  removed  down  the  ravine  by  the  help  of  half-a- 
dozen  yoke  of  oxen,  and  were  planted  somewhere  else ; 
but  the  appearance  of  these  was  so  far  marred  by  this 
operation,  that  they  presented  ever  afterward  a  crushed 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


343 


appearance,  and  the  two  front  windows  seemed  to 
squint. 

The  Americans  are  very  clever  at  raising  houses 
and  removing  them.  I  have  often  seen  one  prised 
from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other  without  in- 
jury ;  and  a  house  that  I  have  since  inhabited  in  San 
Francisco,  was  raised  bodily  four  feet,  to  correspond 
with  the  new  grade,  without  in  any  way  interfering 
with  our  internal  arrangements.  Brick  houses  have 
thus  been  raised  and  a  new  basement  built  under 
them ;  but  one  peculiarity  is  apparent  after  all  is 
completed — that  the  doors  and  windows  that  have 
been  left  open  can  not  be  afterward  shut,  and  those 
that  have  been  shut  can  not,  by  the  same  rule,  be 
opened. 

I  was  present  at  more  than  one  of  the  general 
elections  at  San  Francisco,  and  in  connection  with 
this  ceremony  lies  one  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  of 
the  country. 

Setting  aside  the  means  by  which  governors  and 
legislators  are  brought  into  office  by  a  majority  of 
votes,  I  will  take  the  case  alone  of  the  elected  judges 
of  the  State  of  California.  Many  who  have  barely  a 
knowledge  of  common  law,  here  come  forward  for  the 
office  of  judge,  and  are  elected — how,  it  matters  not — 
but  such  men  have  been  elevated  to  the  bench,  and 
once  there,  have  detracted  as  much  from  its  dignity 
as  men  well  could.  Murderers  passed  and  repassed 
before  them  unpunished,  and  this,  in  part,  gave  rise 
to  the  actions  of  the  Vigilance  Committee. 

It  has  been  unfortunate  for  California  that  the  elec- 
tions have  been  long  controlled  by  a  dishonest  class, 


344 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


the  least  likely  to  support  such  candidates  as  would 
place  a  check  upon  crime.  However,  the  press  of  the 
country,  and  the  people,  are  fully  alive  to  the  exist- 
ence of  this  evil,*  and  it  is  possible  that  before  long, 
the  Judiciary  will  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and 
senate,  when  good  men,  of  whom  there  are  plenty, 
will  come  forward  for  office. 

It  has  been  very  difficult  to  get  a  jury  to  convict  a 
murderer  in  this  country ;  I  am  puzzled  to  say  why, 
for  self-interest  would  dictate  an  unusual  degree  of 
severity — still  the  fact  stands,  that  in  twelve  hundred 
murders,  but  two  men  have  been  publicly  executed. 
One  man  acting  under  jealousy,  ill-founded  as  it  ap- 
peared on  trial,  walked  up  behind  his  victim  in  the 
street,  and  then  and  there  blew  his  brains  out ;  yet 
the  jury  would  not  convict  this  man,  and  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  a  year's  imprisonment  only. 

The  judge  should  not  have  been  bound  by  such  a 
verdict,  for  either  the  man  was  guilty  of  cold-blooded 
murder,  or  was  altogether  innocent. 

The  press,  f  which  has  vastly  improved  in  Califor- 
nia, has  taken  a  firm  stand  in  opposition  to  this  evil, 
and  before  long  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  criminal  law 
will  be  wholesomely  administered  there.  We  must 
not  expect  perfection  in  a  self-regulated  colony  of  six 
years'  growth,  particularly  when  we  remember  that 
law  reform  and  integrity  of  election  occupy  attention 
in  older  countries. 

*  Since  this  was  written,  an  election  has  taken  place,  calculated  to 
give  satisfaction  to  the  Reform  Party. 

f  A  little  paper  called  the  "  Sun"  deserves  great  credit  for  the 
courage  with  which  it  has  attacked  existing  abuses ! 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


345 


"When  once  the  seed  of  reform  is  implanted  in  Cali- 
fornia, it  grows  with  great  rapidity.  It  may  be  that 
the  greatest  sinners  make  the  greatest  saints  ;  but  cer- 
tainly, the  most  carelessly  dissipated  community  that 
ever  was  brought  together,  have  already,  in  their  new 
position,  enacted  laws  for  the  complete  overthrow  of 
many  of  those  so  called  "necessary  evils"  that  are 
borne  with  in  cities  of  older  growth,  and  more  self- 
assumed  wisdom,  and  infinitely  greater  professions  of 
sanctity. 

It  is  said  that  one  surfeit  of  raspberry-tarts  will 
produce,  in  the  pastrycook's  boy,  a  permanent  nausea 
for  these  luscious  things ;  thus  with  Californians, 
they  have  seen  vice  and  debauchery  in  so  awful  a 
shape,  that  in  the  reaction  of  feeling  more  good  is 
being  done  to  the  country  as  regards  sweeping  reform, 
than  would  have  happened  in  twenty  times  the  time 
had  the  early  colonists  been  at  the  first  but  ordina- 
rily virtuous.  The  thorn  is  extracted  at  once,  and 
there  is  an  end  of  temporizing  and  preaching,  which 
lead  to  nothing  at  times,  as  any  one  may  see  who  will 
visit  some  of  our  cathedral  cities,  and  learn  some- 
thing of  the  statistics  of  the  immorality  which  exists 
within  them,  and  the  number  of  divines  who  are  there 
to  raise  their  voices  against  it. 

One  of  the  Irish  convicts  who  had  escaped  by 
breaking  his  parole,  arrived  in  San  Francisco  about 
this  time,  and  was  feasted  and  made  much  of  by  a 
certain  class  who  are  to  be  found  in  many  parts  of 
the  United  States,  and  are  monomaniacs  on  the  sub- 
ject of  America  opening  her  arms  and  welcoming  to 
her  soil  the  political  exiles  of  other  countries. 


346       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


The  free  hospitality  which  America  extends  to  ex- 
iles of  all  classes,  is  to  be  admired ;  what  a  pity,  then, 
to  detract  from  its  dignity  by  a  vulgar  "  emeute," 
which,  after  all,  is  extended  as  much  to  a  singer  or 
fiddler,  as  to  a  (so-called)  champion  of  liberty.  But 
the  exiles  generally  do  not  seem  to  improve  on  ac- 
quaintance, and  the  days  of  triumphal  entry  are 
passed  for  them,  and  no  wonder ;  for  they  are  not 
always  grateful. 

Take  the  case  of  one  who,  being  welcomed  to  the 
United  States,  at  once  devotes  his  energies  to  the 
production  of  a  journal  which  will  not  only  arouse 
political  bitterness  on  the  spot,  but  carefully  keeps 
alive  what  remnant  of  bigoted  hostility  to  England 
yet  slumbers  in  the  country.  Now,  as  the  man  who 
sows  discord  between  this  country  and  America  is 
an  enemy  as  much  of  the  latter  as  of  the  former, 
is  it  not  inconsistent  that  such  a  one  should  be  be- 
speeched  and  be-dinnered  on  his  arrival?  However, 
a  man  may  be  bowed  obsequiously  into  a  house,  only 
to  be  kicked,  on  acquaintance,  ignominiously  out  of 
it,  and  I  imagine  that  more  than  one  political  refugee 
in  America  will  live  to  experience  a  similar  reverse  of 
fortune. 

The  "  Know  Nothings,"  it  would  appear,  have  set 
their  faces  against  foreigners  holding  office  in  the 
United  States.  If  this  political  sect  would  exert  their 
influence  to  prevent  rabid  runaway  rebels,  who  land 
among  them,  from  revenging  themselves  by  exciting 
animosity  against  the  country  that  has  cast  them  off, 
they  would  do  a  great  deal  of  good  to  the  United 
States. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  o47 


And,  indeed,  as  regards  the  exclusion  of  natural- 
ized subjects  from  office,  the  "Know  Nothings "  are, 
in  my  opinion,  right  to  a  certain  extent ;  for  if  we 
divide  those  who  swear  allegiance  to  the  United 
States  into  two  classes,  we  have,  firstly,  the  poor 
emigrants  who  leave  an  over-populated  country  to 
spread  themselves,  in  obedience,  as  it  were,  to  a  law 
of  nature,  over  the  vast  unpeopled  forests  and  plains 
of  a  new  continent ;  and,  secondly,  the  educated  class, 
who  can  do  well  at  home,  but  can  do  better  by  for- 
saking one  flag  to  cling  (as  long  as  it  suits  them)  to 
another.  This  class  are  known  as  "  Whitewashed 
Yankees,"  a  term  that  may  be  complimentary,  but 
does  not  sound  like  it.  It  is  from  this  educated  class 
of  naturalized  subjects  that  the  aspirants  for  office 
step  forward,  and  under  all  the  circumstances,  I  am 
not  surprised  that  a  large  sect  of  Americans  now  op- 
pose them.  For  it  appears  to  me,  that  a  man  who 
has  felt  so  little  patriotism  for  his  native  land  as  to 
abjure  it  formally  from  interested  motives,"  is  not 
likely  to  remain  faithful  to  the  new  country  he 
adopts,  any  longer  than  suits  his  purpose.  His  mo- 
tives are,  at  the  best,  based  on  self,  and  he  is  conse- 
quently not  the  best  qualified  either  to  hold  office  or 
to  conduct  the  public  press.* 

There  is  a  disproportionate  number  of  jewelers  and 
goldsmiths  in  San  Francisco,  yet  all  drive  a  flourisli- 
insr  business.    Two  articles  are  in  oxeat  demand,  viz., 

C  o  7  7 

gold  watches  and  silver  speaking-trumpets.  Xearly 

*  I  beg  to  forestall  the  remark  that  may  here  be  applied  to  me, 
that  I  am  myself  a  Know  Xothincf,  and  defend  the  sect  from  fellow- 
feeling. 


348      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


every  one  in  California  has  a  gold  watch — every  nig- 
ger has,  I  am  sure,  and  very  much  dignity  does  a 
"  colored  person"  exhibit  whenever  he  draws  out  his 
ponderous  gold  turnip,  the  chain  of  which  is  nearly  as 
large  as  the  cable  of  a  ten-gun  brig. 

The  speaking-trumpets,  of  which  so  many  may  be 
seen  in  the  jewelers'  shop  fronts,  are  accounted  for  by 
the  habit  the  San  Franciscans  have  of  presenting  a 
testimonial  to  the  captain  of  any  ship  who  may  have 
brought  them  safely  into  port.  This  testimonial  is 
almost  invariably  a  speaking-trumpet,  which  is  tend- 
ered to  the  skipper,  with  a  request  that  he  will  blow 
it,  from  the  undersigned,  etc.,  etc.  This  mania  be- 
came so  strong  at  one  time,  that  if  the  captain  of  any 
Oregon  schooner  with  a  cargo  of  lumber  arrived  in 
safety  with  two  passengers  and  a  dog,  there  was  no 
knowing  what  honors  awaited  him ;  at  least,  a  letter 
of  thanks  from  the  passengers  and  dog,  but  probably 
a  speaking-trumpet ;  so  that  soon  there  was  more 
ridicule  than  honor  attached  to  these  testimonials. 

When  nearing  San  Francisco  one  day  in  a  noble 
steamship,  whereof  the  captain  had  done  his  duty  by 
piloting  the  ship  in  safety  and  attending  to  the  com- 
forts of  his  passengers,  a  gentleman  arose  toward  the 
close  of  our  last  dinner  on  board,  and  amidst  profound 
silence,  commenced  eulogizing  our  skipper.  I  sat 
next  to  this  latter,  and  when  the  orator  continued, 
"  Therefore,  gentlemen,  it  has  been  moved  and  carried 
by  a  committee  of  the  passengers,  that  to  mark  the 
high  sense  they  entertain,"  the  poor  skipper  turned 
to  me  with  anguish  in  his  eyes,  and  whispered,  "By 
Gr — d,  they're  going  to  give  me  a  speaking-trumpet." 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


349 


He  was  right,  too,  and  got  a  tremendous  one ;  how- 
ever, I  whispered  comfort  to  him,  and  showed  him 
how,  by  putting  a  bottom  to  the  large  end  of  the 
trumpet,  and  a  handle  at  the  top,  it  would  make  a 
splended  claret  jug,  capable  of  holding  a  gallon  at 
least;  and  then,  suggested  I,  "you  might  erase  the 
inscription,  and  say  you  won  it  at  a  steeple-chase." 
Whether  he  followed  this  wholesome  advice  or  not  I 
never  heard. 

I  secured  my  passage  on  board  the  "Northerner," 
and  started  on  my  way  to  England,  in  company  with 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  passengers.  The  weather 
was  delightful,  and  the  wharf  was  crowded  with  friends 
who  had  come  down  to  see  us  off :  the  partings  were 
not  very  heart-rending ;  in  fact,  the  great  joke  seemed 
to  consist  in  those  who  were  on  the  wharf  pelting  us 
with  oranges  and  cheap  novels  as  we  cast  off. 

As  we  steamed  out  of  the  bay  and  lost  sight  of 
the  busy  city  at  last,  we  could  not  but  think  of  the 
changes  and  reverses  that  all  of  us  had  been  witness 
to,  and  most  of  us  had  shared.  I  for  my  part,  as  I 
recalled  the  noble  courage  with  which  misfortune  had 
been  borne  with  by  the  people,  echoed  the  remark 
that  Smith  and  Jones  had  made  conjointly  on  the 
ruins  of  the  first  fire. 

SMITH.  "It's  a  great  country!" 

Jones.  "  It's  nothing  shorter!" 

We  were  very  comfortable  on  board,  and  arrived 
at  Panama  so  much  pleased  with  the  ship  and  the 
voyage,  that  it  was  lucky  for  the  captain  that  there 
were  no  speaking-trumpets  to  be  purchased  at  Pana- 
ma ;  as  it  was,  we  did  not  let  him  off  without  a  letter 


350 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  thanks — and  our  thanks  in  one  form  or  the  other 
he  certainly  deserved;  his  name  was  Isham.  Cap- 
tains of  ocean  steamers  do  not  always  perform  their 
duty ;  many  are  apt  to  forget  that  more  devolves 
upon  them  than  mere  seamanship ;  some  forget  even 
this. 

In  the  great  points,  of  cleanliness  as  regards  the 
ship,  attention  to  the  real  wants  of  the  passengers, 
and  a  judicious  arbitration  of  such  little  outbreaks  as 
will  occur  in  crowded  vessels,  the  commanders  of  the 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Line  (to  which  the  "North- 
erner" belonged)  deservedly  enjoy  a  reputation.  The 
ocean  steamers  on  this  line,  as  also  on  the  oppo- 
sition, which  takes  the  Nicaragua  route,  are  magnifi- 
cent vessels.  Many  of  them  are  over  three  thousand 
tons  burden,  and  are  very  fast  and  beautifully  found. 
Ventilated  with  open  ports  two  feet  square  between 
each  state-room,  they  are  comfortable  and  wholesome 
even  when  carrying  eight  hundred  passengers ;  and 
it  is  the  want  of  ventilation  that  makes  a  crowded 
ship  unbearable  any  where,  and  in  the  tropics  un- 
healthy. 

A  large  proportion  of  ocean  steamers  are  wretched- 
ly off  in  this  respect,  and  travelers  in  the  East  or 
West  Indies  are  often  limited  when  under  hatches  to 
such  air  as  can  penetrate  through  a  scuttle-hole  about 
the  size  of  a  saucer. 

One  American  steamship,  the  "  George  Law,"  pos- 
sesses what  I  have  never  met  with  in  any  other  boat ; 
she  has  not  only  life-boats*  suspended  from  her  davits 

*  Air-boats  with  life  lines  and  floats  suspended  from  their  gun- 
wales. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  351 


on  all  sides,  but  she  has  two  metal  air-boats  elevated 
on  deck,  that  can  be  launched  immediately  under  any 
circumstances.  Besides  these  boats  there  are  on  board 
several  hundred  life-buoys,  one  of  these  being  sus- 
pended to  each  bunk  throughout  the  ship.  These 
life-buoys  are  formed  of  cork  and  painted  canvas,  and 
have  straps  to  fasten  them  under  the  arms.  As  I  re- 
call the  fearful  and  unnecessary  loss  of  life  that  has 
been  recorded  in  the  last  two  years,  I  have  scarcely 
patience  when  I  reflect  how  much  of  it  might  have 
been  avoided  had  each  passenger,  as  on  board  the 
"  George  Law,"  been  provided  with  ten  shillings  worth 
of  cork  and  canvas.  I  was  ten  days  on  board  the 
"  George  Law,"  and  each  night  as  I  went  to  bed,  my 
eyes  were  arrested  by  my  life-buoy.  It  said  plainly 
to  me,  did  this  life-buoy  (not  knowing  that  I  was  a 
sailor  by  profession),  "Collisions  will  take  place,  spon- 
taneous combustion  will  break  out,  and  sunken  wrecks 
and  rocks  and  sand-banks  will  be  run  upon ;  should 
any  of  these  occur,  will  you  not  quietly  buckle  me  on, 
heing  prepared  by  your  daily  contemplation  of  me  for 
any  such  emergency,  and  will  you  not  then  calmly 
assist  wherever  you  are  wanted,  in  the  full  confidence 
that  even  if  the  ship  sinks  under  you,  you  can  float 
without  exertion  until  you  are  picked  up  by  the  life- 
boats V  Certainly  the  contemplation  of  a  life-buoy 
by  one's  bedside  will  bring  such  thoughts  to  mind, 
and  by  keeping  the  danger  before  each  man  night  and 
day,  prepares  him  when  the  hour  comes,  to  act  coolly 
and  reflectively.  But  we  may  look  farther  even  than 
this ;  if  the  presence  of  life-buoys  accustoms  passen- 
gers to  contemplate  danger,  and  to  meet  it  calmly 


352 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


when  it  comes,  does  it  not  stand  to  reason  that  the 
captain  and  crew  of  a  sinking  vessel  are  better  able  to 
exert  themselves  for  the  safety  of  the  vessel,  or  other- 
wise the  lowering  and  provisioning  of  boats,  when  the 
passengers,  confident  in  their  cork  and  canvas,  are 
calmly  awaiting  the  order  to  jump  overboard,  instead 
of  at  once  plunging  into  the  waves,  only  to  struggle 
and  call  piteously  for  help,  thus  unmanning  some  and 
rendering  others  unable  to  assist  them.  How  many 
boats  have  been  successfully  lowered  from  a  sinking 
ship,  but  being  overloaded  too  suddenly,  have  turned 
over  and  drowned  all  that  could  not  swim :  would 
this  be  so  if  all  had  life-buoys?  How  many  boats 
have  left  a  ship  in  the  dark  night  but  half  full,  fear- 
ing the  impetuous  rush  which  a  panic-struck  crowd 
would  make  at  it  if  again  it  touched  the  ship's  sides  ? 
Yet  the  cost  of  such  a  buoy  is  but  ten  shillings,  and 
that  of  a  life-boat  thirty  pounds. 

It  may  be  said  that  every  passenger  can  carry  his 
own  life-preserver,  and  that  most  do  so  :  this  is  no- 
thing ;  it  gives  me  no  increased  confidence  to  know 
that  Muggins  who  sleeps  next  to  me  has  an  India- 
rubber  bag  that  lie  can  blow  out  each  night  before 
turning  in.  The  advantage  of  disposing  life-buoys 
throughout  the  ship,  as  in  the  "George  Law,"  is  in 
the  general  confidence  which  their  presence  gives  to 
all,  and  when  the  moment  of  danger  comes,  that  ten 
shillings'  worth  of  cork  and  canvas  will  enable  those 
who  can  not  swim  to  keep  above  water,  and  those  who 
can  swim  to  double  their  exertions  to  form  a  raft  and 
save  the  helpless.  There  is  not,  to  my  knowledge, 
an  ocean  steamer  that  leaves  England  that  is  properly 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  353 


found  in  this  respect,  nor  will  there  be  until  govern- 
ment inspectors  are  appointed  to  see  that  they  are 
supplied  with  life-boats  that  can  be  lowered  in  all 
weather,  and  do  not  necessarily  swamp  if  a  "fall" 
gives  way,  or  bilge  as  they  surge  against  the  vessel's 
side.  And  captains  of  vessels  should  be  made  to  keep 
their  boats  clear,  so  far  as  this,  that  falls  should  be 
kept  clear  for  running,  and  lashings  and  gripes  so  se- 
cured as  easily  to  be  cast  off,  precautions  which  are 
seldom  taken. 

-  Judging  not  only  by  the  details  we  receive  from 
the  survivors  of  lost  ships,  but  from  what  actually 
comes  before  our  notice  as  we  travel  to  and  fro,  it  ap- 
pears as  a  fact  indisputable,  that  not  only  are  steam- 
boats ill-supplied  with  the  requisites  for  saving  life  in 
case  of  shipwreck,  but  that  what  they  have  are  seldom 
of  use  when  wanted.  With  long-boats  on  board  that 
can  only  be  hoisted  out  under  favorable  circumstances, 
cutters  and  gigs  at  the  davits  lashed  and  secured,  and 
covered  with  tarpaulin,  filled  with  hay  perhaps,  or 
vegetables,  containing  neither  oars,  compass,  or  tow- 
rope,  is  it  a  wonder  that  in  nearly  every  case  of  ship- 
wreck we  find  the  loss  of  life  aggravated  by  the  con- 
fusion and  mismanagement  which  accompanies  the 
lowering  of  boats,  or  the  attempted  construction  of  a 
raft?  A  few  hundred  pounds  would  amply  supply 
every  ship  with  the  requisites  for  preservation  of  life 
in  addition  to  those  they  already  possess,  and  of 
what  account  is  this  sum  in  the  grand  total  of  the 
cost  of  a  steamship  ?  Air-boats,  or  life-buoys  are  by 
no  means  perishable  or  costly  articles :  but  how  much 
less  sad  would  have  been  the  history  of  sinking  and 


354      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


burning  troop-ships  had  they  been  supplied  with 
them  ?* 

Of  what  avail  is  the  splendid  discipline  and  admi- 
rable courage  that  is  displayed  by  soldiers  in  burning 
and  sinking  ships,  when  each  man  has  but  to  wait 
the  hour  when  he  must  go  overboard  and  drown  help- 
lessly. I  would  not  only  have  each  soldier  in  a  troop- 
ship provided  with  a  life-buoy,  but  I  would  also  that 
each  man,  previous  to  sailing,  should  be  made  to  go 
once  into  deep  water  with  the  life-buoy  on,  so  that  he 
might  be  convinced  in  smooth  water  that  the  cork 
would  uphold  his  weight — a  fact  more  difficult  to  be- 
lieve when  the  trial  has  to  take  place  in  a  hurricane, 
and  from  a  sinking  ship. 

Each  vessel  carries  (or  rather  should  carry)  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  spare  spars  to  replace  those  that  may 
be  carried  away;  there  is  seldom  a  call  for  the  largest 
of  these  in  a  well-managed  ship,  yet  they  form  part 
of  her  furniture,  and  are  generally  lashed  on  deck  or 
under  the  chains. 

By  a  little  management  these  spare  topmasts  and 
yards  might  be  so  fitted,  without  impairing  their  util- 
ity, as  to  form  a  raft,  in  conjunction  with  casks,  in  a 

*  As  this  goes  to  press  I  add  a  few  extracts  from  a  report  in  the 
"Times"  of  December  8,  1854,  of  the  loss  of  the  troop-ship  "Char- 
lotte" and  117  lives  in  Algoa  Bay,  September  20th : 

"...  On  the  life-boat  coming  alongside  it  was  found  that  every 
one  on  board  was  completely  paralyzed,  or  overcome  by  the  calam- 
ity. .  .  .  Three  separate  times  the  life-boat  pulled  alongside,  but 
there  was  no  one  in  a  position  even  to  cast  a  line  to  it.  ...  A  great 
number  threw  themselves  overboard.  Some  were  fortunate  enough  to 
reach  the  shore,  but  the  majority  were  drowned." 

This  ship  was  apparently  In  a  position  favorable  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  life,  had  confidence  existed. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  355 


very  short  time.  The  crew  might  be  practiced  shortly 
after  leaving  port  at  launching  these  spars  and  con- 
necting them :  the  passengers  would  be  instructed 
equally  with  the  crew ;  and  in  emigrant  and  troop- 
ships those  who  could  swini  might  at  once  be  sent 
overboard  (with  their  life  buoys)  to  assist  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  raft.* 

To  make  this  more  plain,  let  us  suppose  a  ship, 
whether  canying  troops,  emigrants,  or  passengers,  to 
be  twenty-four  hours  out  of  port ;  an  order  is  posted 
up  that  all  hands  are  to  muster  on  deck  with  their 
life-buoys  at  a  given  hour,  when  the  fire-bell  will  be 
sounded.  The  ship  or  steamer  is  hove  to,  the  spars 
are  unlashed,  launched,  and  the  raft  is  put  together, 
the  boats  are  lowered,  and  the  passengers  then  see 
at  least  that  the  means  of  safety  are  provided  for 
them.  Those  that  can  swim  can  go  overboard  if 
they  please  and  lend  a  hand.  Hoist  every  thing  on 
board,  and  you  have  lost  perhaps  three  hours  of 
your  passage  time,  but  a  vast  deal  has  been  accom- 
plished toward  saving  life,  if  the  ship  that  night  should 
run  upon  a  rock  and  perish.  Every  thing  would 
be  in  its  place,  and  all  that  could  be  done  would  be 
done. 

I  fear  that  there  would  be  much  opposition  to  such 
a  plan  on  board  passenger  ships,  for  when  danger  is 
far  off  there  is  little  disposition  to  submit  to  any 
arbitrary  regulations,  even  though  adopted  for  their 
own  safety;  but  in  emigrant  and  troop-ships  the 
practice  might  be  enforced.  I  would  have  troops  and 
emigrants  mustered  regularly  with  their  life-buoys  on, 
*  These  remarks  were  -written  previous  to  the  loss  of  the  "  Arctic."., 


356      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

and  the  swimmers  formed  into  a  squad  with  a  certain 
duty  appointed  for  them.  Each  man  should  know 
his  station  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  the  fire-bell  be 
sounded  once  a  week  for  practice.  A  little  ingenuity 
in  the  formation  of  buoys,  adapted  to  the  peculiarities 
of  the  frame  of  the  raft,  would  so  secure  a  large  body 
of  men  in  the  frame  that,  even  if  they  perished  from 
exposure  or  starvation,  they  would  still  be  found  there 
floating,  and  although  suspense  might  have  made 
death  more  terrible  to  them,  this  would  be  preferable 
to  their  being  washed  off  one  by  one,  after  vain  at- 
tempts to  cling  to  rolling  casks,  and  spars,  and  hen- 
coops, lashed  together,  with  no  more  system  than  the 
urgency  of  the  moment  suggested  to  the  few  who, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  are  prepared,  in  case 
of  shipwreck,  to  make  a  rational  effort  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  their  lives  ;  for  the  want  of  a  lashing, 
or  an  ax,  or  a  tow-rope  for  a  boat  at  such  times 
will  peril  the  lives  of  all ;  but,  when  all  is  provided, 
confidence  and  courage  are  there  also,  and  life  may 
be  saved. 

They  say  drowning  men  will  catch  at  a  straw ;  let 
us  give  our  brave  soldiers  something  to  catch  at,  in 
the  hour  of  emergency,  that  will  serve  to  keep  them 
at  least  a  short  time  above  water ;  and  let  our  "Royal 
Mail  lines"  take  some  precautions  of  this  nature  for 
their  passengers,  and  charge  for  it  extra,  if  they  like, 
in  the  passage  money. 

Shortly  after  the  loss  of  the  "Amazon"  I  was 
taking  a  passage  in  one  of  the  West  India  boats,  and 
I  observed  that,  in  the  ship's  fire  bill,  which  was  ex- 
posed, the  crew  and  officers  only  had  been  stationed. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


357 


I  ventured  to  suggest  to  the  captain  that  an  extra 
clause  might  be  inserted,  to  the  effect  that  those  pas- 
sengers who  chose  to  render  assistance  in  case  of  fire 
should  assemble  with  their  blankets  in  some  part  of 
the  ship  specified,  there  to  be  placed  under  the  charge 
of  one  of  the  ship's  officers  ;  for  it  seemed  to  me  that, 
daily  perusing  such  a  regulation,  a  hundred  able-bod- 
ied passengers  would  be  found,  at  the  sound  of  the 
fire-bell,  ready  with  their  blankets,  which,  under  the 
direction  of  an  officer,  they  would  proceed  to  wet  if 
necessary.  This  plan,  I  thought,  would  not  only  ren- 
der the  passengers  useful,  but  would  keep  them  away 
from  the  boats,  and,  being  prepared  to  act  as  a  disci- 
plined body  in  case  of  danger,  the  silence  so  necessary 
in  these  cases  would  be  observed  among  them.  The 
captain  did  not  agree  with  me;  but,  as  he  did  not 
inform  me  how  I  was  in  error,  I  was  led  to  believe 
that  captains  of  large  boats  get  testy  sometimes  from 
serving  in  the  Tropics,  and  object  to  passengers  hav- 
ing any  opinion  in  matters  connected  with  their  own 
safety. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


"Hercules"  Fails.  —  Land  Crabs.  —  Mr.  Bobbins.  —  "Rushing"  the 
Ship. — New  York. 

May,  1852. 

The  weather  being  fine,  the  roads  were  in  tolerable 
order  when  we  arrived  at  Panama;  we  made  light, 
therefore,  of  the  journey,  and,  having  arrived  at  G-or- 
gona,  we  dismounted  from  our  mules,  and,  taking 
boats,  went  swiftly  down  the  rapid  river,  landing  at 
the  village  of  Barbacoes,  to  which  point  the  railway 
was  now  completed. 

The  station-house  consisted  of  a  large  shed,  in 
which  hundreds  of  fowls  and  thousands  of  eggs  were 
being  cooked,  eaten,  and  paid  for  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  I  observed,  among  other  things,  that  the 
coffee  was  just  as  weak  and  scalding  hot  at  Barba- 
coes, as  at  Wolverhampton,  or  any  other  refreshment 
station. 

There  was  no  time-table  here  at  this  period ;  but 
the  line  had  this  advantage  over  most  others,  that  the 
train  started  at  the  time  specified  by  the  authorities ; 
for  they  waited  until  it  suited  them,  and  then  gave 
the  order  to  "  let  her  slide." 

On  this  eventful  day,  however,  we  had  not  "  slid" 
above  two  miles  when  the  train  stopped.  Returning 
Californians  are  of  a  vivacious  temperament  generally, 
and  are  seldom  at  their  ease  when  sitting  down  inac- 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  361 


tive ;  therefore,  the  instant  the  train  stopped,  every 
man  jumped  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The 
cause  was  soon  apparent ;  we  were  ascending  an  in- 
clined plane,  and  the  little  engine — which,  Hercules 
by  name,  was  not  Hercules  by  nature — had  declined 
to  proceed  any  further.  In  vain  the  sooty  stoker 
emptied  his  oil-can  into  the  fire  to  induce,  if  possible, 
more  steam ;  the  little  engine,  as  it  ineffectually  tried 
a  fresh  start,  looked  piteous,  and  seemed  to  say, 
"  How  can  you  expect  a  little  chap  like  me  to  pull 
nine  hundred  of  these  big  fellows  up  a  hill  like  this  ? 
Let  'em  get  out  and  shove  me  over."  This  argument 
seemed  to  strike  the  conductor,  for,  without  further 
preface,  he  said,  "Now,  lads,  heave  together,"  and  at 
once  we  all  set  our  shoulders  to  the  concern,  and  got 
more  speed  out  of  it  than  "Hercules"  had  done  from 
the  start.  There  was  but  one  line  of  rails  laid  down, 
and,  although  the  authorities  were  not  particular  with 
regard  to  the  time  of  starting,  we  had  the  comfort  of 
knowing  that  a  collision  with  the  other  train  could 
not  be  very  serious.  I  wonder  what  we  should  have 
done  had  we  been  met  by  an  up-train ;  one  of  us 
would  have  had  to  retire,  for  "Hercules"  could  not 
have  taken  us  back,  and  it  was  not  likely  we  were 
going  to  shove  ourselves  back  to  Barbacoes. 

The  scene  would  have  been  splendid,  for  like  the 
two  goats  that  met  on  the  narrow  bridge,  one  train 
would  have  tried  to  force  the  other  back,  and  in  this 
contest  of  personal  strength  I  think  the  nine  hundred 
returning  Californians  would  most  probably  have  won 
the  day,  and  entered  Aspinwall  in  triumph. 

Having  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  we  all  got  in, 

Q 


362       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


and  Hercules  making  the  most  of  the  descent  ran 
away  with  us  for  three  miles,  when  we  got  out  again, 
and  so  on.  The  road  lay  through  a  thick  jungle  of 
splendid  teaks,  and  palms,  and  ferns  of  every  variety ; 
the  rich  epiphytes  brushed  against  our  carriage  win- 
dows, and  the  air  was  suffused  with  that  sweet  fra- 
grance which  is  alone  known  in  a  tropical  forest  after 
rain  has  fallen.  Myriads  of  little  land-crabs  of  a  tur- 
quoise color  lined  the  banks,  and  as  the  time  had  now 
arrived  when  we  might  discharge  our  revolvers  and 
put  them  away,  the  blue  land-crabs  had  the  advant- 
age of  several  hundred  bullets,  and  while  Hercules 
rushed  impetuously  through  the  jungle,  pop,  pop, 
pop,  went  the  "  six  shooters,"  and  as  the  land-crabs 
turned  over  on  their  blue  backs  to  die,  they  present- 
ed to  the  astonished  beholder  yellow  bellies  and  green 
eyes. 

In  a  pouring  rain  we  arrived  at  Aspinwall,  and  this 
being  the  terminus,  we  proceeded  at  once  on  board 
the  steamers  that  were  waiting  to  convey  us  to  New 
York.  There  happened  to  be  an  unusual  number  of 
opposition  boats  in  the  bay,  so  that  fares  were  so  re- 
duced that  the  roughest  fellow  there  could  take  a  first- 
class  berth.  This  was  very  unfair  to  those  of  us  who 
had  booked  our  places  through  at  the  office  of  the 
Mail  Line  in  San  Francisco,  for  we  had  paid  a  cer- 
tain price  for  a  certain  degree  of  comfort  and  room, 
and  this  was  denied  to  us  so  soon  as  the  price  of  the 
saloon  fare  rendered  it  so  overcrowded  that  the  tables 
had  to  be  laid  twelve  times  each  day  to  accommodate 
the  first-class  passengers  with  first-class  fare. 

Thus  the  saloon  was  continually  occupied,  and 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  363 


each  moment  it  was,  "  Sound  the  gong" — "  Hurry 
up  the  soup,"  and  down  rushed  the  "next  lot,"  as  an 
auctioneer  would  say,  leaving  a  hecatomb  of  Califor- 
nian  hats  at  the  foot  of  the  companion  ladder.  We 
had  on  board  the  junior  partner  of  some  English 
house,  who  was  returning  from  a  business  visit  he 
had  made  to  some  part  of  Sx)uth  America.  He  gave 
himself  great  airs,  and  being  dressed  with  the  ex- 
treme taste  which  characterizes  your  fast  city  man, 
he  threw  us  all  into  the  shade,  for  we  as  yet  were 
not  fashionably  attired,  nor  had  we  put  razors  to  our 
chins. 

One  day  at  dinner  this  fellow,  being  affronted  at 
some  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  waiter,  said,  "Aw! 
do  you  take  me  for  a  returned  Californian  ?" 

This  remark,  being  audible  above  the  din  of  knives 
and  forks,  produced  a  sudden  silence,  and,  for  a  mo- 
ment, I  thought  that  Mr.  Bobbins's  ears  would  have 
been  taken  off  with  a  carving-knife.  Fortunately 
for  him,  however,  each  one  was  in  high  spirits  at  the 
thought  of  reaching  home,  and  being  very  hungry, 
continued  his  dinner  without  waiting  to  resent  the 
impertinence. 

There  was  a  man  on  board  who  had  brought  with 
him  from  the  mines  two  young  grizzly  bear  cubs, 
who  were  just  getting  large  enough  to  be  dangerous, 
and  that  evening,  as  Mr.  Bobbins  was  dreamily  en- 
joying a  cigar  on  deck,  he  was  aroused  from  the  con- 
templation of  his  patent  leather  boots  by  moonlight 
with,  "  Sir,  allow  me  to  introduce  to  you  two  return- 
ed Californians."  Ursa  major,  thereupon,  being  held 
up,  scratched  Bobbins's  face,  while  ursa  minor  attack- 


364      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


MR.  BOBBINS. 


ed  the  patent  leathers,  which  he  forcibly  removed,  to- 
gether with  a  toe-nail  or  so,  with  his  teeth. 
.  While  one  miner  held  a  screeching,  biting,  ring- 
tailed  monkey  over  Mr.  Bobbins's  head,  another  pro- 
duced a  savage  bull-terrier,  who,  having  done  his 
duty  at  the  mines  dogfully,  seemed  very  anxious  in- 
deed to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Bobbins's 
throat. 

It  was  some  time  before  the  "returned  Californians" 
could  tear  themselves  away  from  their  new  acquaint- 
ance, and  when  they  did,  they  tore  away  more  of  his 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  3(35 


cross-barred  trowsers  and  cut-away  coat  than  any  tailor 
could  repair. 

The  next  day  we  arrived  at  Havana,  and  3Ir.  Bob- 
bins was  wise  enough  to  leave  the  ship  and  await  a 
passage  in  another  vessel,  and  I  only  wish  that  every 
traveling  "gent"  who,  puffed  out  with  conceit,  causes 
his  countrymen  to  blush  for  his  ignorance  and  vulgar- 
ity, may  get  as  durable  a  lesson  as  that  which  Mr. 
Bobbins  received  from  the  four-footed  "  returned  Cali- 
fornians." 

At  Havana  we  found  that  Americans  were  in  bad 
odor,  on  account  of  the  filibustering  expeditions 
which  had  but  lately  been  repulsed.  As  we  steamed 
out  of  the  harbor,  an  intelligent  miner  observed  to 
me,  44 1  guess  that  place  will  soon  belong  to  our  peo- 
ple. " 

44  Do  you  think  Spain  will  sell  it  ?"  I  asked. 

•4  Our  people  will  take  it,"  he  replied. 

44  But,"  said  I,  44  suppose  England  and  France 
should  interfere." 

44  Whip  them,"  was  the  laconic  reply,  and  he  turned 
on  his  heel. 

I  mention  this,  because  a  large  portion  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  remembering  only  the  successful 
frigate  actions  in  which,  during  the  last  war,  they 
reaped  laurels,  are  ignorant  respecting  the  real  strength 
of  their  navy  at  this  moment. 

As  our  captain  wished  to  arrive  at  New  York  be- 
fore the  opposition  boats,  all  steam  was  earned  that 
the  boilers  could  bear,  and  a  little  more,  I  suspect.  In 
fact  we  were  to  4 4  rush  the  ship,"  and  she  so  trembled 
fore  and  aft  with  the  work,  that  it  was  almost  impossi- 


366 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


He  to  read  a  book  in  any  part  of  her.  The  bearings 
of  the  engines  became  so  hot  that  they  were  pumped 
upon  day  and  night. 

She  was  a  beautiful  boat,  built  for  the  most  part  of 
pine,  I  believe,  and  there  was  no  difficulty  in  placing, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  a  day  on  her  log  board,  independent  of  any  fa^ 
vorable  current. 

Soon,  however,  we  were  in  the  Gulf  Stream,  and 
were  met  by  signs  of  a  southeaster ;  first  it  "  clouded 
up,"  as  a  miner  remarked,  and  then  it  "breezed  up 
considerable,"  after  which  night  came  on  and  with 
it  the  gale.  These  southeasters  have  a  way  of  chop- 
ping round  when  at  their  height,  and  by  this  eccen- 
tric conduct  many  vessels  are  lost.  One  of  the  offi- 
cers informed  me  that  a  short  time  previously  a  brig 
called  the  "John  Hill,"  was  taken  aback  in  this 
way,  and  her  cargo  of  molasses  shifted  and  burst  the 
decks,  upon  which,  "  John  Hill"  became  water-logged. 
Two  days  after  the  mate  was  taken  off  the  wreck  with 
two  legs  and  an  arm  broken ;  and,  concluded  my  in- 
formant, the  captain  was  found  two  miles  off,  "  in  good 
shape,"  floating  on  a  hen-coop — the  rest  of  the  crew 
were  lost.  Fine  weather  succeeded  the  gale,  doubly 
fine  by  contrast,  and  as  we  passed  Sandy  Hook,  and 
steamed  up  New  York  Bay,  the  shores  on  either  side, 
white  with  snow,  shone  brilliantly  in  the  winter's  sun  ; 
and  the  leafless  trees  that  grew  in  copses  here  and  there 
in  naked  desolation,  had  more  charm  for  us,  being 
nearer  home,  than  ever  had  the  vivid  green  of  the 
palms  and  ferns  that  ten  days  back  we  had  seen  at 
Panama. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS  367 


Thus  is  our  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  ever  de- 
pendent on  association ;  and  to  me  the  white  cliffs 
of  my  own  country,  whether  I  am  casting  the  last 
glance  on  leaving  them,  or  straining  my  eyes  as  I 
first  catch  a  glimpse  of  them  as  I  return,  these  ugly 
chalky  cliffs  have  more  actual  charm  for  my  eye  than 
all  that  I  have  ever  seen  elsewhere  of  nature's  rarest 
gifts. 

There  is  nothing  left  for  me  to  say  of  New  York, 
others  having  recorded  more  than  I  could  learn  of 
it  in  a  week's  sojourn  there.  Having  visited  many 
places  of  note,  that  have  been  already  accurately  de- 
scribed, I  turned  into  Barnum's  Museum  to  see  the 
woolly  horse,  but  I  could  not  find  it ;  being  disap- 
pointed in  the  natural  history  department,  I  stopped  to 
witness  the  theatrical  performance,  and  this  so  impress- 
ed me  that  I  subjoin  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader  a 
bill  of  performance,  which  I  extracted  from  an  Ameri- 
can journal : 

Just  opened,  with  100,000  Curiosities,  and  performance  in  Lecter- 
Room  ;  among  witch  may  be  found 

TWO  LIVE  BOAR  CONSTRICTERS, 
Mail  and  Femail. 

also ! ! 

A  STRIPED  ALGEBRA,  STUET. 

BESIDES  !  ! 

A   PAIR  OF  SHUTTLE  COCKS  AJVD  ONE  SHUTTLE  HEX— alive! 

THE  ! 

SWORD  WITCH  GEN.  WELLINGTON  EIT  WITH  AT  THE 
BATTEL  OF  WATERLOO !  whom  is  six  feet  long  and 
broad  in  proportion. 


368      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


with  ! ! ! 

A  ENORMOUS  RATTLETALL  SNAKE— a  regular  wopper ! 
and! 

THE  TUSHES  OF  A  HIPPOTENUSE ! 
Together  with ! 
A  BENGALL  TIGER  :  SPOTTED  LEPROSY ! 


C  RE  AT  MORAL  SPECTACLE  OF  "MOUNT  VESUVIUS." 

PAET  ONE. 

Seen  opens.  Distant  Moon.  View  of  Bey  of  Napels.  A  thin 
smoke  rises.  It  is  the  Beginning  of  the  Eruction  !  The  Napels  folks 
begin  to  travel.  Yaller  fire,  follered  by  silent  thunder.  Awful  con- 
sternation. Suthin  rumbles  !  It  is  the  Mounting  preparin'  to  Vomic  ! 
They  call  upon  the  Eire  Department.  It's  no  use!  Flight  of  stool- 
pidgeons.  A  cloud  of  impenetrable  smoke  hang  over  the  fated  city, 
through  witch  the  Naplers  are  seen  makin'  tracks.  Awful  explosion 
of  bulbs,  kurbs,  forniquets,  pin  weels,  serpentiles,  and  fourbillon 
spirals  !    The  Moulting  Laver  begins  to  squash  out ! 

End  of  Part  One. 

COMIC  SONG. 

The  Parochial  Beedle  Mr.  Mullet. 

LIVE  INJUN  ON  THE  SLACK  WHtE. 

Live  Injun  Mr.  Mullet. 

OBLIGATIONS  ON  THE  CORNUCOPIA,  BY  SIGNOR 

VERMICELLI. 
Signor  Vermicelli  Mr.  Mullet. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  will  be  an  exhibishun  of  Exileratin' 
Gas  !  upon  a  Lafnn  Highena  ! 
Laflfin  Highena  Mr.  Mullet. 

PAET  TWO. 

Bey  of  Napels  'luminated  by  Bendola  Lites.  The  lava  gushes 
down.  Through  the  smoke  is  seen  the  city  in  a  state  of  conflagra- 
tion. The  last  family !  "  Wliar  is  our  parents  ?"  A  red  hot  stone 
of  eleving  tuns  weight  falls  onto  'em.  The  bearheaded  father  falls 
scentless  before  the  statoo  of  the  Virgin !    Denumong  !  ! 

The  hole  to  conclude  with  a 

GRAND  SHAKSPEARING  PYROLIGNEOUS  DISPLAY 
OF  FIREWURX!! 
Maroon  Bulbs,  changing  to  a  spiral  weel,  witch  changes  to  the  Star 
of  our  Union  :  after,  to  butiful  p'ints  of  red  lites  ;  to  finish  with  bust- 
ing into  a  Brilliant  Perspiration  ! 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


369 


During  the  performance  a  No.  of  Popular  Airs  will  be  performed 
on  the  Scotch  Fiddle  and  Bag-pipes,  by  a  real  Highlander. 

Real  Highlander  Mr.  Mullet. 

Any  boy  making  a  muss,  will  be  injected  to  once't. 

As  the  Museum  is  Temperance,  no  drinkin'  aloud,  but  anyone 
will  find  the  best  of  lickers  in  the  Sloon  below. 

Could  I  have  witnessed  such  an  entertainment  as 
this,  together  with  the  woolly  horse,  my  chapter  on 
New  York  would  have  been  swelled  both  in  size  and 
importance. 

Q* 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Yellow  Fever. — A  wooden  Head. — Hard  Times. — A  Gale. — We 
Spring  a  Leak. — Acapulco. — Smuggling. — Cholera. — Conclusion. 

Christmas,  1852. 

"I'll  soon  be  lback,  boys,"  was  my  last  remark, 
it  will  be  remembered,  as  I  parted  from  the  Tuttle- 
tonians  on  the  road ;  consequently,  in  the  winter  of 
1852,  I  found  myself  at  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  on 
my  way  back  to  the  scrofulous  pigs,  the  Carpenter 
Judge,  and  Constable  Rowe.  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  that  for  the  time  being  I  would  have  no  more 
to  do  with  quartz-mining.  I  saw  that  there  was  much 
respecting  it  that  would  remain  enigmatical  until  the 
application  of  capital  and  science  had  produced  re- 
sults ;  so  as  the  English  Mining  Companies  appeared 
to  possess  both  capital  and  science  in  abundance,  I 
determined  to  wait  and  learn  something  from  their 
operations,  and  for  that  matter  I  am  waiting  still.  As 
my  wife  accompanied  me,  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
jog  on  by  easy  stages  to  San  Francisco,  and  when 
arrived  there,  visit  either  Southern  California  or  the 
Great  Salt  Desert.  Having  had  a  rough  passage  out, 
we  were  resting  for  a  few  days  at  St.  Thomas,  when 
the  yellow  fever  broke  out  with  great  violence ;  soon 
the  ships  in  harbor  lost  all  their  crews,  and  the  popu- 
lation ashore  became  panic-struck  with  the  virulence 
and  suddenness  of  the  disease.    I  was  glad  when  the 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


371 


Company's  steamer,  Dee,  arrived  to  take  us  on  to 
Aspimvall ;  and  as  this  ship  was  considered  healthy, 
we  congratulated  ourselves  as  we  left  the  anchorage 
on  having  left  Yellow  J ack  behind  us ;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, we  had  embarked  on  board  the  very  ship 
that  was  doomed  to  suffer  the  most  of  all  the  steamers 
of  the  mail  line.  We  had  scarcely  been  forty-eight 
hours  out,  when  the  funeral  service  was  read  over 
nine  of  the  ship's  crew ;  arriving  next  day  at  Cartha- 
gena,  we  landed  there  about  a  dozen  hopeless  cases. 
The  day  after,  my  servant  died  in  great  agony. 

The  features  of  the  yellow  fever,  as  then  exempli- 
fied, were  very  horrible.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  de- 
scribe them,  but  merely  mention  that  the  disease  com- 
menced with  a  bleeding  from  the  nose  and  gums,  and 
this  hemorrhage  in  many  cases  could  not  be  checked 
while  life  remained. 

"We  had  about  twelve  passengers  on  board,  all 
English  but  one ;  five  of  them  were  sturdy  Cornish 
miners  proceeding  to  California.  The  first  passenger 
attacked  was  Air.  Adams,  an  American ;  and  as  we 
were  then  in  sight  of  Aspinwall,  we  hoped  to  land  in 
an  hour  or  two,  and  fly  from  the  epidemic,  which  had 
not  as  yet  appeared  on  the  Isthmus.  We  left  3Ir. 
Adams  bleeding  profusely  from  the  nose,  and  we 
afterward  heard  of  his  death.  There  was  a  vague 
fear  among  us  that  we  were  not  quite  safe,  so  we 
hurried  on  to  Gorgona,  which  village  we  reached  that 
night.  The  rain  descended  without  cessation,  and 
we  had  arrived  at  the  close  of  one  of  the  heaviest  wet 
seasons  that  had  been  known  for  years.  The  roads 
were  described  as  being  in  many  places  impassable, 


372 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


and  such  mules  as  we  could  hire  were  so  worn  out  by 
the  winter's  work  that  they  could  scarcely  bear  our 
weight  when  we  mounted.  The  luggage  was  charged 
at  the  rate  of  a  shilling  a  pound,  and  the  muleteers 
would  not  engage  to  take  it  through  in  safety.  Much 
trouble  there  was,  I  believe,  in  starting  from  Gorgona 
in  the  early  morning ;  much  falling  of  mules  and  im- 
mersion of  riders  in  thick  ponds  of  mud,  ere  our  party 
had  proceeded  a  mile  on  the  road.  The  rain,  I  be- 
lieve, fell  as  if  it  would  blind  one,  and  as  the  thunder 
reverberated  through  the  dark  forest  of  palm-trees,  the 
lightning  made  the  darkness  of  the  black  covered  road 
before  us  more  horrible. 

Had  not  the  yellow  fever  been  behind  us,  our  party 
would,  I  believe,  have  turned  back  to  spare  the  women 
such  a  fearful  trial.  I  say,  believe,  for  the  night  be- 
fore I  had  been  attacked  by  yellow  fever,  and  now  as 
we  stumbled  and  slid,  and  scrambled  and  swam 
through  the  red  fat  mud,  I  knew  nothing. 

My  head  was  of  wood,  as  it  were,  or  lead,  and  if 
any  one  had  chopped  it  off  I  should  not  have  known 
it,  but  have  gone  on  quite  as  comfortably.  I  had  but 
one  fixed  idea,  and  that  was  that  I  wanted  water ; 
sometimes  I  got  it,  oftener  it  was  not  to  be  had,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  that  I  pondered  dreamily  over  this 
circumstance  as  something  remarkable. 

Of  course  I  tumbled  off  a  great  many  times,  but 
not  so  often  as  was  expected ;  a  habit  of  riding  ena- 
bled me  to  keep  a  certain  kind  of  seat  even  under 
such  trying  circumstances.  I  cared  little  for  tumbling 
off,  but  was  roused  to  anger  at  being  lifted  on  again ; 
however,  my  wife  did  the  best  she  could  for  me,  and 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  373 


by  night-fall  we  arrived  at  a  hut  on  the  side  of  the 
road  to  sleep.  There  was  no  Californian  traffic  on 
the  road  at  this  period,  and  our  party  consisted  but 
of  three  men  and  two  women,  the  Cornish  miners 
having  proceeded  on  foot  the  day  previously.  They 
placed  us  in  a  small  loft,  through  the  chinks  of  which 
could  be  perceived  some  half  dozen  ruffian-looking 
armed  natives,  who  had  congregated  below.  I  sup- 
pose they  did  not  murder  us  because  they  thought  we 
had  no  money ;  otherwise  they  would  have  done  so, 
unless  they  made  an  exception  in  our  favor  over  other 
unarmed  passengers  who  got  benighted  at  these  sea- 
sons. It  rained  still  as  we  plodded  on  next  day, 
and  we  passed  a  slough  where,  a  day  or  two  before,  a 
woman  had  fallen  off  her  mule  and  was  suffocated 
before  assistance  reached  her.  My  head  was,  if 
possible,  more  wooden  than  ever,  and  I  became 
much  distressed  at  one  place  where  I  lost  my  boots 
in  the  mud ;  for  the  moment  I  argued  quite  reason- 
ably on  this  subject,  but  soon  becoming  unmanned,  I 
burst  into  tears,  and  proceeded  on  my  way,  stolid, 
stupid,  and  bootless.  Our  party  arrived  at  Panama 
half  dead  with  fatigue,  draggled  with  mud,  and 
shivering  in  the  torn  clothes  that  for  nearly  sixty 
hours  had  been  drenched  in  rain.  I  was  placed  in 
bed ;  the  other  male  passengers — all  of  whom  had 
arrived  in  good  health — made  themselves  comforta- 
ble, and  thought  no  more  of  the  Dee,  or  the  rain, 
or  the  mud.  In  less  than  ten  days  they  all  died  of 
yellow  fever  hut  one,  and  I  alone  of  those  attacked 
recovered.  Of  the  whole  party  a  Mr.  Mears  alone, 
who  was  traveling  with  his  wife,  escaped  unharmed. 


374 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


The  hotel  we  had  selected  was  undergoing  a  com- 
plete restoration,  and  was  very  merry  with  the  noise 
of  whistling  carpenters,  who  kept  time  with  their  ham- 
mers. 

The  best  accommodation  we  could  procure  was  a 
small  whitewashed  room  at  the  furthest  end  of  the 
court-yard;  in  this  room  were  two  small  stretcher 
beds,  without  mattresses  or  covering  of  any  kind,  and 
as  times  went,  we  were  fortunate  in  procuring  these, 
for  Panama  was  very  full.  There  were  no  servants 
in  the  hotel ;  there  was  seldom  any  thing  to  eat,  and 
when  there  was,  the  cooks  were  drunk  and  mutinous 
and  refused  to  cook.  After  six  o'clock  the  fires  were 
put  out,  and  the  cooks  went  away  altogether  until  the 
next  morning,  when  they  would  stroll  in  early  or  late, 
just  as  suited  them. 

I  was  laid  on  a  stretcher  bed,  and  fortunately  for 
me  the  doctor  who  attended  me  was  clever  in  his 
profession,  and  gave  me  no  medicine.  After  a  day 
or  two  I  commenced  bleeding  at  the  mouth  as  the 
others  had  done,  and  a  sad  time  my  wife  must  have 
had,  as  she  sat  by  my  bedside  and  wiped  away  the 
hot  blood  as  drop  by  drop  it  trickled  from  my  lips, 
watching  me  die,  as  all  thought  then  I  should  do. 

During  this  time  I  felt  no  pain,  and  although  I 
never  lost  my  consciousness,  I  was  in  that  dreamy 
state  in  which  I  could  embrace  no  fixed  idea;  my 
reflective  faculties  were  lost  to  me ;  I  never  thought 
whether  I  was  to  get  up  again  or  die.  I  wished  to 
be  left  alone  in  that  undisturbed  enjoyment  which 
one  can  fancy  a  dog  feels  as  he  lies  in  the  sun  wink- 
ing and  blinking  at  humanity. 


MOUNTAINS    AND    MOLEHILLS.  375 


When  at  last  I  recovered  and  could  sit  up,  I  found 
that  all  my  companions  of  the  Dee  had  died.  I  soon 
got  ravenously  hungry,  and  then  came  the  worst  part, 
for  I  was  restricted  to  a  very  small  allowance  of  food. 
I  was  so  yellow  that  I  became  quite  vain  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  my  chief  delight  for  a  long  time  was  to  con- 
template myself  in  the  glass.  It  is  customary  to  say 
of  a  man  with  the  jaundice,  that  he  is  as  yellow  as 
an  orange  ;  an  orange  paled  by  my  side,  and  my  skin 
was  of  so  bright  a  hue,  that  to  have  given  me  a  coat 
of  gamboge  would  have  been  to  paint  the  lily.* 

It  seemed  that  we  had  brought  the  yellow  fever 
with  us  to  Panama,  or  rather  it  appeared  at  the  time 
of  our  arrival,  and  it  was  now  spreading  with  great 
rapidity.  Cholera  also  broke  out,  and  deaths  from 
one  or  the  other  of  these  causes  became  very  numerous. 

The  people  being  panic-struck,  a  great  rush  was 
made  for  the  Californian  boats,  of  which  there  hap- 
pened, at  this  time,  to  be  very  few. 

So  soon  as  I  was  able  to  move,  there  was  but  one 
small  screw  steamer  in  port,  and  as  the  place  was 
daily  becoming  more  unhealthy,  I  secured,  by  great 
favor,  a  cabin  in  her. 

Nothing  could  excuse  the  state  in  which  this  ship 
put  to  sea,  not  even  the  panic ;  for  she  was  not  only 
ill-found  in  every  respect,  but  was  so  crowded  with 
passengers,  that  it  was  not  until  it  was  ascertained 
that  there  was  scarcely  standing-room  for  those  on 
board  that  she  tripped  her  anchor. 

*  I  trust  the  reader  will  understand  that  if  I  omit  to  write  seri- 
ously of  my  feelings  on  recovery  from  a  death-bed,  it  is  because  I 
consider  a  work  like  this  no  place  for  them. 


376      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


I  had  secured  a  dog-hole  of  a  cabin,  and  was  no 
sooner  on  board  than  my  wife,  worn  out  by  fatigue 
and  anxiety,  was  attacked  by  violent  fever.  There 
were  two  young  doctors  on  board,  but  both  were  at- 
tacked shortly  after  we  started.  Then  the  epidemic 
(an  aggravated  intermittent  fever)  broke  out  among 
the  passengers,  who — crowded  in  the  hold  as  thick  as 
blacks  in  a  slaver — gave  way  to  fear,  and  could  not 
be  moved  from  the  lower  deck,  and  so  lay  weltering 
in  .their  filth. 

During  this  time,  I  could  get  no  medicine  or  at- 
tendance, and  my  wife  was  in  the  last  stage  of  pros- 
tration. 

The  epidemic  raged,  and  from  the  scuttle-hole  of 
our  small  cabin  we  could  hear  the  splash  of  the  bodies 
as  they  were  tossed  overboard  with  very  little  cere- 
mony. There  was  little  to  eat  on  board  but  ham  and 
biscuit,  and  it  was  hard  work  to  get  enough  of  that. 
On  the  fifth  day  out,  there  sprang  up  a  gale,  a  heavy 
one  too,  for  all  it  was  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Our  over- 
laden screw  steamer  could  make  but  five  or  six  knots 
at  the  best  of  times,  but  now  she  could  make  no 
headway  against  the  storm,  and  she  pitched  so  heavi- 
ly in  the  long  seas  with  which  we  were  met,  that  she 
sprung  a  leak  and  made  water  fast. 

When  we  commenced  to  work  the  pumps  they  were 
found  to  be  useless,  for  the  coal  had  started  and  the 
pumps  became  choked.  This  new  danger  drove  the 
epidemic  out  of  the  passengers'  heads,  and  they  at 
once  proceeded  to  throw  overboard  the  cargo  (and 
with  it  my  luggage),  and  then  they  baled  by  means 
of  tubs  and  buckets. 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


377 


For  two  days  and  nights  we  were  in  suspense  as 
gang  relieved  gang  at  the  buckets,  and  the  old  "screw" 
pitched  heavily  in  the  trough  of  the  sea.  All  were 
black  and  filthy  with  the  coal  dust,  which  now  mixed 
with  the  water  in  the  hold,  and  as  they  howled  and 
shouted  over  the  work,  these  fellows  looked  like 
devils.  They  worked  bravely  though  and  coolly,  and 
when  the  carpenter  hallooed  from  the  hold,  "  Hurrah, 
lads,  it's  gaining  on  us ;"  there  was  no  winching  on 
the  part  of  those  who  worked,  but  a  more  steady  ap- 
plication to  the  bucket  ropes  and  falls.  Then  the 
gale  broke,  and  as  the  ship  became  easier,  the  leak 
gave  wray  before  the  exertions  of  the  coal-begrimed 
passengers ;  we  steamed  into  Acapulco,  still  baling 
out  the  black  water  from  the  hold,  and  felt  ourselves 
safe,  at  least,  from  shipwreck.  A  favorable  change 
had  taken  place  in  my  wife's  health,  and  I  determined 
on  remaining  at  Acapulco  until  I  could  procure  a 
passage  in  some  safer  and  more  commodious  vessel. 

I  forbear  to  mention  the  name  of  this  steamer,  as 
the  captain  of  her  was  a  good  sailor,  and  behaved 
nobly,  and  it  was  no  fault  of  his  that  the  agents  at 
Panama  had  so  cruelly  risked  the  lives  of  so  many 
people. 

The  British  consul  at  Acapulco  was  kind  enough 
to  interest  himself  in  our  behalf,  and  through  his  in- 
fluence we  procured  a  large  room  in  the  house  of  a 
Mexican  family  of  note.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
chairs  there  was  no  furniture  in  this  room,  but  it  was 
clean  and  well  ventilated,  and  "looked  out"  upon  a 
court-yard  of  fragrant  orange  trees  which  were  now 
heavily  laden  with  fruit. 


378      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


Nor  have  the  natives  of  Acapulco  much  need  of  fur- 
niture, for  they  seldom  live  in  their  houses,  preferring 
to  hang  their  hammocks  in  the  porch,  where  they 
swing  lazily  to  and  fro,  and  enjoy  the  cool  "breeze. 
The  principal  apartment  is  used  occasionally  as  a  re- 
ception room,  but  it  is  not  considered  requisite  to  em- 
ploy more  decoration  on  this  than  other  parts  of  the 
house,  which  is  a  lamentable  proof  of  the  ignorance 
which  exists  here  of  the  usages  of  polite  society  in 
those  countries  of  which  the  inhabitants  do  not  con- 
sider what  is  good  enough  for  themselves  good  enough 
for  their  visitors. 

The  custom-house  officers  of  Acapulco  were  very 
suspicious,  and  such  of  my  baggage  as  had  not  been 
thrown  overboard  was  subjected  to  a  very  severe 
scrutiny.  There  is  a  heavy  duty  on  the  exportation 
of  specie  and  playing  cards  in  this  part  of  Mexico, 
and  the  manufacture  of  the  latter  is  monopolized  by 
the  Government,  and  gives  rise  to  a  great  deal  of 
smuggling.  As  many  invalids  had  been  landed  at 
Acapulco  from  the  Californian  steamers,  and  had  there 
died,  it  was  not  unnatural  that  an  occasional  victim 
should  be  inclosed  in  a  shell,  and  be  reshipped  for 
interment  in  another  country.  During  a  season  in 
which  Acapulco  air  rather  accelerated  death  than 
aided  recovery,  so  large  a  quantity  of  "remains" 
were  hermetically  sealed  and  addressed  to  distant 
friends,  that  the  commandant  became  suspicious,  and 
insisted  one  day  on  opening  a  coffin.  No  corpse  was 
there,  but  in  its  place  was  the  devil ;  that  is  to  say,  as 
far  as  a  good  cargo  of  playing  cards  and  doubloons  can 
represent  that  functionary !     Since  then  the  dead  man 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


379 


who  goes  out  is  searched  equally  with  the  live  one 
who  comes  in. 

There  had  been  an  earthquake  at  Acapulco  imme- 
diately before  our  arrival,  and  the  best  proof  of  the 
severity  of  the  shock  was  in  the  fact  that  numerous 
adode  buildings  were  lying  crest-fallen  on  all  sides. 
A  Spanish  mud-built  house  has  a  strong  constitution, 
and  is  built  with  a  view  to  earthquakes ;  but,  like  us 
poor  mortals,  it  is  built  of  dirt,  and  must  crumble  to 
dirt  again,  as  the  Fates  direct. 

The  mosquitoes  at  Acapulco  were  as  numerous  as 
any  I  remember  to  have  seen ;  and,  in  certain  consti- 
tutions, every  bite  produced  a  sore,  which  was  aggra- 
vated by  the  climate.  We  are  accustomed  to  look 
jocularly  on  the  attacks  of  these,  or  any  other  hungry 
insects  ;  but  to  an  invalid  their  bites  are  often  produc- 
tive of  most  serious  consequences. 

I  was  enabled  at  last  to  secure  a  passage  in  a  large 
steamer,  which  touched  at  Acapulco  on  her  voyage  to 
San  Francisco.  She  was  a  magnificent  boat,  but, 
having  eight  hundred  passengers  on  board,  it  was 
with  difficulty  we  could  procure  accommodation.  We 
secured,  however,  a  couple  of  sofas  in  the  main  saloon, 
and,  two  bags  of  bones  as  we  were,  we  managed  to 
find  either  sofa  much  too  big  for  us. 

Asiatic  cholera  broke  out  on  the  day  we  left  Acapul- 
co, and  I  began  to  think  that  we  brought  ill  luck  with 
our  presence.  It  was  sad  to  hear  the  groans  of  the 
dying  passengers  in  the  cabins  right  and  left,  but  per- 
haps less  so  to  us  than  to  others,  for  we  had  seen  so 
much  sickness  on  our  voyage  that  we  had  come  to 
look  upon  it  in  a  stolid  sort  of  way,  and  were  free 


380      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


from  those  fears  and  anxieties  which  the  more  robust 
about  us  experienced.  We  arrived  at  San  Francisco 
with  a  loss  in  one  week  of  fifty  passengers,  and  if  we 
did  not  thank  God  for  his  mercy  in  preserving  us,  we 
were  surely  the  most  ungrateful  of  his  creatures. 

I  would  gladly  have  been  spared  this  record  of  a 
very  miserable  voyage,  and  yet  without  it  my  narra- 
tive would  have  been  incomplete,  as  presenting  but 
one  side  of  the  picture.  At  the  same  time  I  can  as- 
sure the  reader  that  I  have  not  described  one  half  its 
horrors. 

As  we  glide  swiftly  down  the  stream  one  day  with- 
out a  care,  so,  on  the  next  perhaps,  with  the  pole  to 
our  breast,  we  must  sturdily  stem  the  rushing  current 
to  arrive  at  our  goal  with  a  fainting  frame  and  panting 
heart,  if  God  so  wills ;  or  otherwise,  with  broken  oar 
and  shattered  bark,  meet  our  destruction  in  the  cruel 
eddies  of  the  swollen  river. 

******** 

During  my  absence  the  State  of  California  had  pro- 
gressed in  the  seven-leagued-boots  manner  which  had 
characterized  it  from  the  first. 

The  vast  blocks  of  brick  houses  that  had  risen  on 
every  side  in  San  Francisco  looked  so  very  new  and 
red  that,  the  streets  being  filled  with  empty  packing- 
cases,  it  seemed  as  if  the  city  had  been  sent  out  piece- 
meal, packed  in  shavings,  and  put  together  like  a  box 
of  toys. 

Let  us  take  one  final  glimpse  at  this  colony  of  six 
years'  growth. 

The  wharves  of  the  city  still  grow,  and  the  clipper 
ships  appear  to  grow  proportionately ;  each  "  Flying 


MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


381 


Dragon,"  "Flying  Fish,"  or  "  Flying  Cloud,"  that  ar- 
rives requires  more  room  for  her  pinions  than  those 
that  have  come  before  her. 

Theatres  have  sprung  up  like  mushrooms,  and  act- 
ors are  so  plentiful  and  good  that  I  think  of  the  days 
of  the  little  "Dramatic"  and  Mr.  Warren's  "last  ap- 
pearance but  one"  in  fear  and  trembling,  lest  any  one 
should  recognize  that  individual  in  me.  Concerts  and 
Balls,  Fancy  fairs  and  Picnics ! — A  planked  road  that 
leads  to  a  sweet  nook  in  the  country,  where,  in  spring 
time,  the  hills  are  bright  with  wild  flowers,  and  the 
air  fragrant  with  their  odor. — A  planked  road  that 
leads  to  the  wild  and  rugged  cliffs  outside  the  bay, 
where  the  rollers  break  in  one  continued  foam,  as 
they  lash  themselves  angrily  against  the  massive  wall 
that  dares  to  check  their  course ;  and  where,  in  the 
midst  of  fog  and  mist  and  the  spray  of  struggling 
waters,  sea  lions  live  on  lonely  rocks,  barking  joy- 
fully as  the  heavy  surge  sweeps  over  their  oily  backs. 
— A  pleasant  road  that  leads  to  a  quiet  lake,  where 
you  may  dine  at  the  hotel  and  enjoy,  as  it  may  suit 
you,  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers,  or  the  invigorating 
salt  sea-air. — Horses  and  carriages ;  country  villas 
and  country  inns ;  libraries  and  debating  societies ; 
ladies  in  plenty,  children  in  plenty,  and  pleasant  so- 
ciety, are  here. — Steamers  running  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  steamers  running  to  China,  steamers  running 
to  Panama  and  Australia,  are  here. — There  are  electric 
telegraphs  throughout  the  country,  and  soon  they  say 
there  will  be  a  railroad  that  will  connect  San  Fran- 
cisco with  the  Atlantic  States  of  America. 

There  is  grain  enough  sown  for  the  consumption 


382      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


of  the  country ;  there  are  brick-fields,  stone  quarries, 
lime-works,  and  saw-mills  enough  to  supply  fifty 
cities. 

There  are  foundries,  and  steam  flour-mills,  ship- 
yards, and  docks. 

And  in  the  mines — where  shall  I  stop  if  I  begin 
to  tell  of  the  towns  and  villages  that  have  sprung  up 
there,  of  the  bridges  and  roads,  the  aqueducts  and  tun- 
nels, that  meet  one  on  every  side  ?  * 

And  not  least,  the  Press  has  taken  a  firm  tone,  and 
devotes  itself  to  the  eradication  of  existing  evils. 

*   A'Jpsdut  *       *       *       *    w *viV{  ^>*sk>Tj  1«i 

Again  I  am  leaving  San  Francisco  on  a  bright 
Sunday  morning.  As  we  glide  past  the  hills,  the 
sound  of  bells  from  twenty  churches  is  borne  to  us 
over  the  calm  bay;  we  can  see  artisans  strolling  in 
groups  with  their  families,  and  schools  of  children  on 
their  way  to  church,  who  merrily  wave  us  an  adieu. 

Soon  the  bells  are  heard  no  more,  and  now  having 
passed  the  Heads,  we  meet  the  fat  fog  which  the  sun 
has  turned  out  of  the  bay. 

As  we  plunge  boldly  into  this,  we  say  farewell  to 
California. 


APPENDIX. 


Extracts  from  a  work  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Trask  (U.  S.),  on 
the  Geology  of  California. 

SOILS  OP  THE  VALLEY  SANTA  CLARA  AND  SHORES 
OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY. 

The  soils  on  the  Bay  San  Francisco  differ  much  on  its  eas- 
tern and  western  sides ;  both  borders  of  the  bay  present  the 
tertiary  series,  but  both  do  not  present  the  trapean  rocks  to 
the  same  degree  of  development ;  this,  then,  of  course,  will 
cause  a  distinctive  and  marked  difference  in  the  productive 
capabilities  of  either  shore.  It  will  be  found  in  all  the  soils 
which  have  been  derived  in  whole,  or  in  part,  from  rocks 
more  recent  than  the  tertiary  group,  that  a  more  extensive 
and  varied  adaptation  to  agricultural  purposes  will  be  present ; 
this  will  be  particularly  manifest  in  those  sections  where  the 
tertiaries,  containing  organic  remains,  enter  somewhat  large- 
ly into  the  components  of  the  soil  produced  from  such  sources. 

Under  a  proper  course  of  treatment  these  lands  will  be 
made  available  for  the  purpose  of  the  agriculturist,  and  our 
already  large  domain  of  arable  lands  thus  much  increased. 
The  situation  of  these  lands  in  the  interior  is  such  that  they 
may  be  easily  reclaimed  should  they  ever  fall  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  State,  which  undoubtedly  they  will,  under 
the  law  regulating  "  saline  lands."  In  the  counties  of  San 
Francisco,  Santa  Clara,  and  Alameda,  the  wet  land  that  may 
be  made  available  by  drainage  is  about  seventy  square  miles, 


384      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


exclusive  of  the  "  saline  lands"  at  the  southern  part  of  the 
county  of  Santa  Clara. 

Most  of  the  valley  sections  of  this  range  of  country  is  arable 
land,  and  that  which  is  not  can  easily  be  made  so  when  re- 
quired ;  the  agents  for  bringing  this  about  being  found  in  the 
adjoining  hills  to  the  east.  The  character  of  the  soil  and 
climate  adapts  it  to  all  the  productions  of  temperate  climates, 
and  where  local  position  modifies  the  climate  of  any  section,  it 
is  found  capable  of  producing  plants  of  the  tropical  latitudes. 

The  extreme  southeastern  part  of  this  valley  would  be 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  foreign  fruits  and  other  products,  but 
it  must  be  beyond  the  influence  of  the  cold  sea-wind  that 
passes  inland  across  the  range  of  lower  hills  which  divides  the 
Salinas,  Pajaro,  and  Santa  Clara  valleys,  the  effect  of  which 
would  be  to  blight  the  fruit,  though  the  plant  or  tree  might 
continue  to  thrive. 

The  low  hills  that  flank  the  east  side  of  the  valley  con- 
tain all  the  elements  required  for  the  culture  of  tropical  plants 
and  fruits ;  the  climate  and  soil  will  be  found  adapted,  and 
the  only  agent  that  appears  in  the  least  to  be  wanting  is 
water  sufficient  to  supply  the  demands  of  those  plants.  From 
the  appearance  of  small  lagoons  and  rivulets  at  different  eleva- 
tions it  is  presumable  that  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  agent 
may  be  found  a  short  distance  below  the  surface. 

As  a  general  rule  the  mountains  lying  upon  the  east  border 
of  the  valley  Santa  Clara  are  covered  with  a  soil  superior  to 
that  of  the  plains,  and  of  much  greater  depth.  I  have 
measured  the  depth  of  these  soils  in  many  places,  and  where 
it  is  well  developed  have  found  it  varying  from  four  to  eleven 
feet  for  miles  continuous  :  its  extreme  fertility  produces  heavy 
crops  of  the  native  grains  and  grasses,  which  annually  contrib- 
ute to  its  increase  by  their  decomposition. 

Although  these  lands  are  situated  within  the  reach  of  the 
sea  breeze  from  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  they  are  protected 
from  its  cold  by  the  slope  of  the  hills  and  the  modifications  of 


A  I*  P  E  N  I)  I  X. 


385 


its  temperature  acquired  in  its  passage  down  the  bay  before 
reaching  the  northern  portion  of  the  valley.  So  much  is  the 
temperature  increased  that  an  addition  of  ten  degrees  is  often 
acquired  in  its  transit  from  San  Francisco  to  the  head  of  the 
valley,  a  distance  little  rising  fifty  miles.  This  increase  of 
temperature  in  the  air  is  accompanied  with  an  increase  in 
its  capacity  for  moisture,  hence  it  is  usual  to  find  a  slight 
aqueous  haze,  which  results  from  the  condensation  of  its  mois- 
ture, hanging  about  this  entire  range  of  hills  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  and  is  usually  seen  early  in  the  morning. 

THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  VALLEYS  OF  SACRAMENTO 
AND  SAN  JOAQUIN. 

These  valleys  form  a  "single  geographical  formation, 
stretching  from  the  terminal  spurs  of  the  Cascade  Mountains 
at  the  north  to  the  junction  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  with  the 
southern  terminus  of  the  Monte  Diablo  range  with  the  thirty- 
fourth  parallel  of  north  latitude.  The  length  of  the  valley  is 
about  three  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  length  on  an  air  line, 
with  a  breadth  of  fifty  miles  at  its  widest  point. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  valley  is  that  of  an  ex- 
tended plain  composed  of  alluvium,  and  this  opinion  would 
obtain  in  the  mind  of  any  person  whose  line  of  travel  would 
lead  him  over  the  lower  terraces  of  the  plain,  or  what  is 
denominated  its  bottom  lands.  It  is  only  by  making  a 
transverse  section  of  this  plain  that  we  should  be  able  to  ar- 
rive at  any  correct  conclusions  of  its  structure  and  peculiar- 
ities of  its  formation  ;  by  pursuing  this  course,  very  distinct- 
ive and  marked  features  are  observable  of  different  periods 
of  elevation  to  which  this  portion  of  the  country  has  been 
subjected  subsequent  to  its  emergence  above  the  level  of  the 
sea. 

The  character  of  the  soil  in  many  parts  of  this  valley  will 
render  it  of  little  importance  as  an  agricultural  distriet  .  un- 
it 


386        M  U  U  N  T  A  1  N  S    AN  D    M  0  L  E  HILL  8. 


less  water  in  ample  quantities  for  irrigation  can  be  obtained. 
(These  remarks  apply  particularly  to  the  upper  terrace  of  the 
valley  on  each  side  of  the  river.)  And  we  hope  that  atten- 
tion may  be  called  to  this  very  important  subject  of  making 
the  extensive  areas  of  the  arid  districts  of  the  basin  available 
for  market  and  agricultural  purposes. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  the  almost  certainty  of  ob- 
taining water,  and  in  sufficient  quantities,  for  agricultural 
and  other  purposes,  in  all  valleys  resting  upon  sedimentary 
formations,  and  having  a  basin-shaped  structure,  and  where 
the  different  beds  have  a  degree  of  uniformity  or  regularity 
in  their  position,  and  are  of  a  texture  that  will  admit  the  free 
percolation  of  water  through  the  superior  beds,  and  sufficient- 
ly firm  to  prevent  its  escape  in  those  below. 

These  conditions  are  all  fulfilled  in  the  basin  of  the  Sacra- 
mento ;  and  from  the  united  testimony  of  different  observers, 
we  have  ample  evidence  that  the  sedimentary  formations  of 
one  side  are  the  same  as  those  upon  the  other,  with  the  ex- 
ception, perhaps,  of  the  conglomerate. 

The  report,  after  classifying  the  rocks  of  the  coast,  mount- 
ains, etc.,  goes  on  to  describe  their  order  and  more  recent  vol- 
canic rocks.  In  relation  to  the  discovery  of  coal,  the  author 
says : 

From  a  careful  examination  of  this  part  of  the  country,  with 
this  object  in  view,  I  feel  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  coal  will 
not  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  coast  mountains  south  of  the 
thirty-fifth  parallel  of  north  latitude ;  what  there  may  be 
north  of  this  point,  I  know  nothing,  having  never  visited  it. 

It  is  not  unfrequent,  in  passing  over  the  country,  to  hear 
of  beds  of  mineral  coal ;  during  the  past  season  I  have  visited 
four  such  localities,  and,  as  was  anticipated,  each  of  them 
proved  to  be  merely  small  beds  of  lignite,  and  two  of  them 
hardly  deserving  that  name.  One  of  these  deposits  proved  to 
be  but  a  bed  of  leaves,  having  a  thickness  of  about  three 
inches,  resting  upon  a  tertiary  sandstone  containing  marine 


APPENDIX. 


387 


shells,  and  covered  with  twelve  feet  of  a  sandy  alluvium. 
This  is  one  of  those  coal  beds  which  has  figured  so  largely 
in  the  public  prints  of  the  State  during  the  past  year,  and  has 
induced  several  gentlemen  to  pay  the  locality  a  visit,  and  to 
return  as  deeply  disappointed  as  their  previous  anticipations 
were  elevated. 

The  report  of  coal  veins  in  the  Coast  Mountains  must  be 
received  with  many  grains  of  allowance,  and,  at  the  best, 
none  but  tertiary  deposits  will  be  found,  and  these,  even 
should  they  exist,  would  be  capable  of  supplying  but  a  limited 
demand,  and  that  usually  of  an  inferior  quality.* 

MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  COAST  MOUNTAINS. 

The  minerals  of  these  mountains  are  widely  dispersed 
throughout  their  entire  extent ;  they  consist  principally  of 
copper,  iron,  lead,  silver,  gold,  nickel,  and  antimony,  with 
agates,  chalcedony,  and  many  others,  too  numerous  to  men- 
tion here. 

Silver. — In  the  county  of  Monterey  this  metal  occurs  in  the 
form  of  argentiferous  galena  (or  lead  and  silver),  and  this 
mineral  is  found  in  the  primitive  and  transition  limestone 
abounding  in  this  section  ;  it  is  found  in  small  veins  and  dis- 
seminated ;  the  range  in  which  it  occurs  extends  from  the 
Gabilan  peak  to  the  Chapedero  on  the  south,  a  distance  of 
twelve  miles  inclusive. 

Iron. — This  metal  is  found  in  almost  every  variety  of  form, 
from  one  end  of  the  Coast  Mountains  to  the  other ;  the  pre- 
vailing mineral,  however,  is  the  peroxide  and  protoxide  of 
this  metal ;  the  latter  is  often  found  in  the  form  of  hydrate, 
and  when  occurring  in  proximity  to  serpentine  rocks,  often 
found  to  be  more  or  less  auriferous.  This  mineral  is  largely 
developed  in  some  parts  of  the  auriferous  district  of  Mariposa 

*  Extensive  fields  of  good  serviceable  coal  have  been  discovered 
in  Southern  Oregon. — Author. 


388       MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 

County,  and  forms  one  of  the  most  valuable  receptacles  of  gold 
among  the  gold  bearing  rocks  of  that  section. 

Sulphate  of  Iron. — This  article,  known  in  commerce 
under  the  name  of  "  copperas,"  is  found  native  in  large 
quantities  near  the  town  of  Santa  Cruz,  Its  principle  had 
occurred  a  short  distance  west  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Medor,  in  a 
gulch  running  from  the  mountains  through  the  low  hills  to 
the  coast.  I  followed-  the  course  of  the  ravine  from  where  it 
enters  the  high  hill  near  the  crossing  of  the  road  northwest 
of  the  town  to  near  the  sea.  The  average  depth  of  its  banks 
varies  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet,  its  length  from  the  hill  to 
the  coast  being  about  two  miles. 

Magnetic  Iron. — At  the  distance  of  two  miles  northwest 
of  the  above  locality,  an  extensive  bed  of  magnetic  iron  occurs, 
running  down  to  the  coast,  at  which  point  it  crops  out  and 
exhibits  a  depth  of  several  feet. 

Gypsum. — Sulphate  of  lime  is  reported  to  abound  in  the 
northern  part  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Palo 
de  los  Yeska,  some  six  miles  from  the  mission.  It  was  fre- 
quently spoken  of  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  place,  but  I  was 
unable  to  learn  its  precise  locality. 

Cinnabar  is  also  reported  to  exist  in  this  locality. 

Nickel. — The  ores  of  this  metal  are  found  from  Contra 
Costa  on  the  north,  to  the  utmost  southern  limit  reached  in 
the  Coast  Mountains.  It  occurs  in  the  primitive  rocks,  asso- 
ciated with  chronic  iron  in  almost  every  case  where  the  latter 
may  be  obtained.  It  appears  as  a  bright  green  mineral  on 
the  fractured  surface  of  the  other  ores,  and  is  known  in  tech- 
nical language  as  "  nickel  green."  The  scarcity  of  this  metal 
venders  the  discovery  of  its  ores  in  this  country  an  object  of 
some  importance,  and  its  wide  distribution  leads  to  the  belief 
that  it  exists  in  sufficient  quantities  to  warrant  investment 
for  its  extraction  from  other  ores,  at  no  distant  day.  It  is 
extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of  German  silver  for 
wares  and  household  utensils. 


A  f  P  E  N  I)  I  X. 


Gold. — This  metal  has  been  found  in  the  Coast  Mountains, 
from  the  county  San  Francisco  on  the  north  to  Luis  Obispo 
on  the  south.  The  slates  and  serpentine  formations  which 
have  been  previously  noticed  in  this  report,  are  found  to  be 
receptacles  of  gold  here  as  hi  the  Sierra  Nevada  ;  the  rocks 
are  extensive  in  the  Coast  Mountains,  often  comprising  an 
entire  ridge  for  miles  ;  they  are  usually  flanked  by  the  granite. 
During  the  past  summer,  the  placers  in  the  county  Santa 
Grata  were  much  worked ;  the  gold  found  there  was  princi- 
pally on  the  San  Lorenzo  and  its  tributaries  ;  it  was  fine,  and 
much  resembled  that  found  in  the  Coyote  Hill,  near  Nevada  ; 
under  the  glass  it  had  all  the  appearance  of  having  suffered 
but  little  from  attrition  by  water,  the  surface  of  the  grains 
being  rough,  as  though  just  detached  from  their  original 
matrix.  The  slates  and  serpentine  rocks  occur  on  both  sides 
of  this  creek,  with  small  veins  of  quartz  running  through 
them  ;  and,  from  what  we  know  of  auriferous  districts  of  this 
and  other  countries,  the  presumption  is  that  gold  in  situ  ex- 
ists here  almost  to  a  certainty. 

On  the  upper  portions  of  the  Carmello,  in  the  county  of 
Monterey,  gold  is  also  found,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
rancho  Tulecita.  Farther  to  the  southeast,  near  the  head 
waters  of  the  creek,  it  is  also  found  on  the  tributaries  of  the 
main  stream  that  flow  from  the  western  ridge  of  these 
mountains.  On  the  Francisquito,  a  tributary  of  the  Carmello, 
coming  from  the  southwest,  and  twelve  miles  from  the  coast, 
it  is  also  found  near  the  house  of  Barondo.  Three  or  four 
Mexicans  were  working  with  the  battea  at  the  time  I  passed 
that  ranche.  The  serpentine  rocks  are  largely  developed  on 
the  east  flanks  of  the  granite  ridges,  and  from  their  course 
they  may  be  considered  as  forming  the  northern  part  of  a 
series  which  occurs  at  the  Mission  San  Antonio,  fifty  miles 
south. 

The  district  of  country  in  the  Coast  Mountains  in  which 
the  auriferous  deposits  are  now  known  to  occur,  is  about  eighty 


^yO      MOUNTAINS    AND  MOLEHILLS. 


miles  in  length,  and  thus  far  is  confined  to  the  counties  of 
Santa  Clara,  Monterey,  and  the  north  part  of  Luis  Obispo. 
This  is  a  material  addition  to  the  already  known  area  in 
which  this  metal  is  found,  and  its  location  in  what  has  here- 
tofore been  considered  the  agricultural  districts  of  the  State, 
will  in  time  exert  a  beneficial  influence  in  the  permanent  set- 
tlement of  those  sections. 

Antimony. — The  common  sulphuret  of  this  metal  is  very 
abundant  in  the  Monte  Diablo  range  ;  at  Mount  Oso  it  is 
found  in  large  masses,  also  at  various  other  points  through- 
out these  mountains  ;  it  occurs  in  considerable  quantities  in 
some  parts  of  the  county  of  Santa  Barbara.  This  mineral  is 
deserving  of  attention,  as  it  often  contains  a  notable  quantity 
of  silver,  though  as  yet  no  specimens  which  have  been  found 
in  this  country  contain  a  large  per  centage  of  this  metal. 

Bitumen. — Bituminous  springs  abound  through  the  Coast 
Mountains,  and  in  some  places  is  much  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  buildings  and  walks  in  front  of  buildings  ;  for  the  lat- 
ter purpose  it  is  admirably  adapted  in  situations  where  the 
sun  will  not  have  too  powerful  an  effect  upon  it,  as  in  such 
cases  it  is  apt  to  become  soft.  In  the  counties  of  Santa 
Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  and  Monterey,  several  of  these  springs  oc- 
cur, and  further  south,  are  found  more  abundant.  Information 
has  been  received  of  an  extensive  deposit  of  bitumen  in  Con- 
tra Costa,  some  six  miles  from  the  shores  of  the  bay,  but  at 
what  point  I  have  as  yet  been  unable  to  learn.  This  article 
has  been  used  of  late  in  the  manufacture  of  gas,  for  illumina- 
tion, and  it  possesses  some  advantages  over  the  common  oil  or 
resin  gas  in  general  use  ;  a  sufficient  quantity  for  the  illumin- 
ation of  the  country  may  be  easily  obtained,  and  at  low  rates, 
when  required  for  this  purpose. 

*        *       *        #        #       *        *  # 

PLACER  MINING. 
The  writer  enters  into  a  long  treatise  on  this  branch  of 


A  P  P  E  N  D  I  X. 


mining,  and  represents  its  progress  as  being  very  extensive 
during  the  last  two  years. 

It  is  now  ascertained  to  a  certainty  that  the  placer  ranges 
extend  to  the  east,  within  ten  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  "  sum- 
mit ridge,"  so  called,  of  the  Sierra  Nevada ;  and  the  condi 
tion  in  which  it  is  found  at  these  points  is  similar  in  all 
respects  to  that  in  the  older  or  more  western  sections,  with, 
perhaps,  one  exception,  and  that  the  relative  age  of  both. 
There  are  evidences  which  clearly  indicate  a  deposit  of 
gold  older  than  the  diluvial  drift  of  the  lower  or  western 
diggings  (which  latter  is  often  confounded  with  the  drift 
deposits  of  the  tertiary  periods  in  this  country),  the  character 
of  which  differs  in  almost  every  respect  from  any  other  de- 
posit yet  observed  hi  this  country,  except  in  this  particular 
range. 

Its  direction  has  been  traced  for  about  seventy  miles,  and  is 
found  to  extend  through  the  counties  of  Butte,  the  eastern 
part  of  Yuba,  Sierra  Nevada,  Placer  and  El  Dorado  ;  it  ap- 
pears to  have  an  average  breadth  of  about  four  miles,  with  an 
elevation  of  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  for  the  greatest 
part  of  its  length . 

$f  #  #  ^  # 

QUARTZ  MINING. 

After  a  few  preliminary  remarks  upon  the  permanency  of  the 
gold  mines  of  this  State,  the  author  proceeds  to  an  elaborate 
consideration  of  the  geological  position  winch  the  quartz  veins 
hold  to  the  rocks  with  which  they  are  connected.  Under  the 
head  of  "  Character  and  positions  of  the  older  veins  below 
the  surface,"  he  concludes  thus  : 

From  what  testimony  we  have  in  our  possession  relative  to 
these  veins,  it  seems  but  reasonable  to  conclude  that  their  in- 
tegrity is  perfect,  or  as  nearly  so  as  can  be  reasonably  expected 
considering  the  short  period  which  has  been  employed  in 
developing  their  true  character,  and  lhat  the  confidence  which 


392        M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N  S    AND    MULEHIL  L  S. 


they  formerly  possessed  was  well  grounded ;  all  subsequent 
examinations  have  only  tended  to  confirm  this  belief  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  have  carefully  and  diligently  studied  this 
subject.  The  present  condition  of  our  gold  mines,  their 
flourishing  state  and  prospective  value,  based  on  facts  as  now 
developed,  most  clearly  indicate  their  importance  as  an  in- 
dustrial pursuit,  and  one  destined  ere  long  to  form  one  of  the 
leading  interests  in  the  economy  of  the  State  ;  and  as  such 
it  would  seem  that  all  prudent  measures  to  develop  farther 
their  extent  and  value,  and  place  them  upon  that  footing 
before  the  world  which  that  value  and  importance  demand, 
should  be  used,  either  through  the  State  or  general  govern- 
ment, and  through  them  promote  such  measures  as  will  prove 
an  inducement  to  more  extensive  and  permanent  operations 
than  has  yet  been  done. 

In  concluding  this  part  of  the  report,  and  in  connection  with 
the  magnitude  and  importance  of  perhaps  a  somewhat  excit- 
ing principle  in  relation  to  it,  I  would  beg  leave  to  call  your 
attention  to  a  point  on  which  there  has  heretofore  existed 
much  diversity  of  opinion,  which  not  unfrequently  has  engen- 
dered angry  discussion  and  belligerent  feeling  in  a  large  pro- 
portion of  our  mining  population.  The  experience  of  the  last 
three  years  has  elucidated  the  fact  most  clearly  that  the  two 
mining  interests  of  this  State  can  not  be  governed  by  the  same 
rule  of  law  in  all  cases,  and  prove  alike  advantageous  to  both  ; 
it  is  therefore  suggested  whether  some  method  more  congenial 
to  this  interest  may  not  be  adopted,  that  will  favor  the  occu- 
pancy and  improvement  of  the  metallic  veins  of  this  State, 
giving  at  the  same  time  the  widest  scope  and  protection  to  all 
at  present  engaged,  and  those  who  may  wish  hereafter  to 
enter  upon  those  pursuits. 

The  mines  of  this  State  are  of  a  character  and  value 
which,  if  placed  in  a  proper  position,  will  invite  investment 
from  abroad  to  an  amount  little  less  than  twenty  millions  of 


APPENDIX. 


393 


dollars  within  the  next  eight  years.  This  presumption  is 
founded  on  a  fact  that  more  than  one  sixth  of  that  amount 
is  at  the  present  time  in  active  operation  in  this  country,  and 
its  largest  proportion  has  been  derived  from  American  sources 
during  a  portion  of  that  period  when  public  confidence  had 
been  shaken  in  regard  to  their  value.  Negotiations  are  now 
pending  which  involve  nearly  one  million  more  of  capital 
investment  in  this  branch  of  mining,  nearly  one  half  of 
which  is  in  the  cities  of  Boston  and  New  York. 

Considering  the  disadvantages  that  now  surround  them, 
as  shown  from  the  facts  relating  thereto,  they  can  but  be  re- 
garded as  the  prolific  sources  of  wealth  in  this  country  ;  and 
every  inducement  consistent  with  the  liberal  policy  adopted 
in  the  government  of  the  placers,  is  equally  applicable,  and 
should  be  extended  to  them. 

Dr.  Trask  concludes  his  very  able  report  by  briefly  review- 
ing the  operations  of  the  following  mines,  viz.  :  Lafayette  and 
Helvetia,  Gold  Hill,  Osborne  Hill,  Wyoming,  Gold  Tunnel, 
Illinois,  Jones  and  Davis  Mine,  Calaveras  County  ;  Spring 
Hill,  Amadore  Company,  Ranchoree,  Keystone,  and  Eureka 
Mine,  Calaveras  County,  all  of  which  he  represents  in  a  pros- 
perous condition. 


THE  END 


